Indian travel agency under fire for errors on Philippine map

Flat design of a Philippine map (Illustration from freepik)

“Geography-challenged?”

This was what some Filipinos commented on a viral graphic posted by an Indian travel agency online, following new visa rules between the Philippines and India.

EaseMyTrip.com, a company that describes itself as a “leading name in the Indian travel industry,” recently uploaded a graphic of a Philippine map with popular tourist destinations incorrectly placed.

The map showed Coron, Palawan, in the Ilocos region; Baguio in the Visayas; Batanes in Palawan; and Sagada in Mindanao.

“Philippines. Visa-free for Indians. Travel Guide,” a text within the graphic reads.

“From shipwreck dives in Coron to surf days in Siargao, this island nation is literally your next main character destination,” the travel agency said in a Facebook post.

The post was edited on Monday, August 11, to remove the controversial graphic following backlash from Filipinos.

Before the edit, screenshots of the travel agency’s Philippine map circulated online, with many Filipinos questioning the accuracy of the location pins.

“New Philippines Map by EaseMyTrip.com Nasa Luzon na ‘yung Coron na may Lapu-Lapu Statue,” a Pinoy said.

“Geography-challenged,” another Facebook user wrote.

“Sinong b*b* ang gumawa nito? EaseMyTrip.com, bw*s*t! Hahaha, wala sana mag-book sa’yo. Iligaw mo pa kami,” a different Pinoy commented.

“By easemytrip.com, a Indian travel company, haha, baka magtaka mga Indian na nasa Visayas na ang Manila, hahaha. Very wrong, hahaha,” another Filipino wrote.

“Sino ba Graphic artist niyan? K*pal,” a different online user asked.

Meanwhile, some questioned whether the inaccurate map was posted intentionally to attract attention.

“Trending now!!! An infographic released by EaseMyTrip.com received criticism for wrongly placed destinations on a Philippine map. Sinadya kaya for marketing purposes o talagang nagkamali ang gumawa?” a Facebook user wrote.

Some members of the press reported the issue to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

In response, the DOT said, “Thanks for flagging, we will reach out to them.”

India-PH relations 

On August 5, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the Philippines and India have agreed to implement reciprocal visa-free travel and resume direct flights starting in October.

The initiative is part of efforts to boost tourism and strengthen people-to-people ties under the newly launched strategic partnership between the two nations, following President Marcos’ state visit to India from August 4 to 8.

During a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, Marcos announced that the Philippines has extended visa-free entry privileges to Indian nationals and invited more Indian tourists to explore the country’s diverse destinations.

“I reiterated our introduction of a visa-free country entry privileges and extended our invitation for more Indian tourists to visit the Philippines,” Marcos said last week.

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