Philippines targets more 'high-spending' tourists

Tourist arrivals in the Philippines may be among the lowest in Southeast Asia, but a ranking official doesn’t mind, as long as the country attracts “high-value” visitors. “Our numbers may seem low compared to Malaysia, for example, but we must take intra-ASEAN visitors into account,” Tourism Promotions Board chief operating officer Domingo Ramon Enerio said Thursday. In 2012, the Philippines attracted 4.3 million tourists, lower than Malaysia (25 million), Thailand (22.4 million), and Singapore (14.5 million), ASEAN data showed. But unlike its neighbors whose visitors were mostly from within the region, about 80 percent of tourists in the Philippines were from other high-income countries. “We are targeting high-value tourists,...

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Posted in: philippine travel news

Immigration expert: If I were to come to Canada to become terrorist, I would apply for "pretty easy" student visa

An immigration expert says the student visa process in Canada is "pretty easy."  "If that was my goal, to come into Canada and either stay illegally, work illegally, or yes, become a terrorist, I would probably apply for a student visa," says Arne Kislenko, a professor at Ryerson University and the University of Toronto who specializes in immigration and national security.  We told you earlier this week that a 33-year-old Pakistani man is accused of plotting to bomb the U.S. Consulate in Toronto and other buildings in the Financial District. The federal government is trying to get him deported.  Jahanzeb Malik first came to Canada in 2004 on a student visa to study at York University.  "Generally speaking,...

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Posted in: canada embassy , Canada Visa , Immigration News , travel news

Portugal's 'Golden Visa' Trade for Rich Immigrants

Portugal is selling EU residency permits to any rich foreigners willing to pay. The opposition calls them corrupt deals that encourage organized crime, but the government simply wants to lower the prices. Portugal's Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas has at least been honest about what's important to him. "The golden visa has brought Portugal 1.27 billion euros [$1.38 billion] of investment in two years," he said. "So it would be stupid if we shut up shop and other countries earned that money." Even if the special residency permits for non-EU millionaires have already cost the head of the immigration authorities his job, and even if the criticism of "visa dispensation by wealth" has grown louder, Portugal seems determined to carry on...

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Posted in: Immigration News , Portugal visa , travel news