MACTAN, Cebu—Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco is backing a unified visa for the ASEAN member states, which, in turn, makes the regional bloc’s tourism industry prosper in the coming years.

“I really would not want to preempt our fellow ASEAN Tourism Ministers, only that the desire is for us to be able to develop the ASEAN region in a manner that will allow benefits to be felt across the region because we can certainly both learn from each other and benefit from each other’s tourism flows,” said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco in an ambush interview at the sidelines of the opening of the ASEAN Tourism Forum here.  

Since last year, Frasco has been advocating for the creation of a regional visa modeled on the Schengen model in Europe, which would facilitate travel for foreign tourists by allowing them to visit Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor Leste with a single travel document.

In January 2025, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said that the unified visa project was in line with the concept of integration and unity highlighted in this year’s theme, which envisages all member countries working together to collectively stimulate economic growth.

On Wednesday, the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting transpired in Cebu, in preparation for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat.

The Meeting discussed the Philippines’ Chairship priorities and deliverables to advance ASEAN Community-building and strengthen ASEAN’s external relations, in line with its theme “Navigating Our Future, Together.”

The Meeting was attended by ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting Leaders and the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Political-Security Community. (RAFFY AYENG)