Visa-free entry for Chinese tourists seen as catalyst for Manila’s Entertainment City
Maybank says the Philippines’ new visa waiver could help revive Chinese VIP traffic to Manila’s casino hub.
The Philippines.- Maybank Securities predicts that the decision to allow visa-free entry to the Philippines for Chinese nationals will support a revival of casino resorts in Entertainment City, Manila’s main integrated resort hub. A decline in Chinese visitation weighed heavily on gaming performance in 2025.
Under the new policy, which took effect on January 16, Chinese tourists can enter the Philippines without a visa for stays of up to 14 days. The move by the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is aimed at boosting trade, investment and inbound tourism.
Maybank analysts view the measure as a positive development for land-based casino operators, particularly those with significant exposure to Chinese VIP players. In a research note focused on Bloomberry Resorts Corp, analyst Raffy Mendoza said the visa waiver should benefit Entertainment City operators such as Solaire Resort & Casino but that “any meaningful recovery in gaming activity is likely to take several quarters.”
The analyst estimates that in the first nine months of 2025, roughly 30 per cent of Solaire Manila’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) came from Greater China. Entertainment City’s combined GGR fell 15 per cent year-on-year to PHP99.4bn (US$1.68bn) in the first three quarters of 2025, partly due to a sharp reduction in fly-in VIP play. At Bloomberry’s Solaire Entertainment City property, VIP GGR dropped by around 50 per cent.
Maybank said VIP GGR at Solaire could be up to 50 per cent higher this year. In its base-case scenario, it expects a more modest, gradual improvement, with VIP volumes recovering over several quarters rather than immediately.
