Entertainment City to feel benefit of new visa rules for Chinese guests
Chinese players can now enjoy visa-free entry in casinos at Entertainment City in the Philippines.
Revenue at the four Entertainment City casinos dropped by 15 per cent year-on-year to US$1.6bn for the first three quarters of 2025, a drop Maybank Securities put down to a steep decline in fly-in VIP players from China.
The move could see Solaire Resort Entertainment City, owned by Bloomberry Resorts Corp., improve its VIP revenues by between 30 and 40 per cent.
Maybank Securities’ analyst Raffy Mendoza said: ““The rollout should enable incremental route and frequency additions, while longer inter-island stays support yield-led 2026 growth. Combined GGR across casinos in Entertainment City fell 15 per cent year-on-year to US$1.68bn in 9M25. The drop was partly attributed to fewer fly-in VIP punters, evidenced by 50 per cent lower VIP GGR at Bloomberry’s Solaire Entertainment City property.
“We observed that this ties to fewer Chinese tourist arrivals last year. While the Department of Foreign Affairs’ waiver of visa requirements for Chinese nationals should bode well for Entertainment City casinos, we anticipate that it may take a few quarters for VIP volumes to recover. Should a quicker impact be felt from the visa waiver, this may lead to 50 per cent higher VIP GGR this year.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs recently announced that, effective 16 January 2026, Chinese nationals could enter the Philippines without the requirement of obtaining a visa for a stay of up to 14 days. This is in line with the President’s directive to facilitate trade, investments, and tourism, as well as strengthen people-to-people exchanges between the Philippines and China.
Chinese nationals travelling to the Philippines strictly for tourism or business purposes can use the new visa-free entry privilege. The privilege allows for a non-extendable 14-day stay, which is non-convertible to any other type of Philippine visa category.
The visa-free privilege will be valid for entry only through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Metro Manila and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in Cebu. Upon arrival, Chinese nationals need to present a passport valid for at least six months beyond the contemplated stay, confirmed hotel accommodation/booking, and a return or onward ticket to the next country of destination. To ensure that security and public order are maintained while facilitating the entry of legitimate travellers, checks on derogatory records of travellers will continue to apply.
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Entertainment City to feel benefit of new visa rules for Chinese guests Chinese players can now enjoy visa-free entry in casinos at Entertainment City in the Philippines. Revenue at the four Entertainment City casinos dropped by 15 per cent year-on-year to US$1.6bn for the first three quarters of 2025, a drop Maybank Securities put down…
The post Visa-free entry for Chinese players in the Philippines’ Entertainment City could boost VIP by up to 50 per cent appeared first on G3 Newswire.