The easing of travel rules will certainly increase foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines.

Airlines are the first to acknowledge the removal of vaccine certificate requirement for inbound foreign travelers will lead to a busier travel sector.

The vaccine proof has served as the most essential travel requirement for foreign visitors during the pandemic.

On many occasions, however, the requisite has discouraged potential foreign tourists to visit the Philippines.

With the global pandemic essentially over and revenge travel on the minds of tourists, the Philippines can expect a sort of a tourism renaissance in the coming months.

International visitor arrivals reached 3.41 million as of Aug. 13, or already about 70 percent of the government’s full-year target of 4.8 million.

The long queues at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the nation’s premier airport, confirm the increase in flights and passenger traffic.

The Christmas holiday season, which is just four months away, and the lax COVID-19 travel rules are expected to result in bigger traffic at the NAIA.

How the airport will respond to the challenge will be interesting to note.

A study by vacation rental management company Casago has just named the NAIA among the worst airports in Asia after passengers were forced to wait in long lines.

Casago “analyzed passenger reviews about queuing times rated on a scale of 1 star to 5 stars on airlinequality.com, taking into consideration only airports with 20 or more passenger reviews.”

NAIA, according to the study, ranked 8th among the 10 worst airports in Asia, with just 18 percent of passengers highly approving the queuing time in the airport.

Singapore’s Changi International Airport, meanwhile, is considered the world’s best in providing smooth experience to passengers after 74 percent of travelers gave it 4 to 5 stars ratings in the travel website.

The NAIA, like some global airports, may argue it is struggling to meet the bigger post-pandemic demand after three years of lockdown restrictions.

For NAIA, the big influx of foreign travelers is causing flight delays and bottlenecks in the form of long queues.

Changi International Airport, a much busier airport, seems to be more capable of handling the task.

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