Direct China-Iloilo flights pushed

ILOILO CITY—The Department of Tourism is eyeing direct flights Iloilo-China and China-Iloilo flights to boost Chinese tourist traffic in Western Visayas.

DOT Regional Director for Western Visayas Helen J. Catalbas said the direct flights came up after the recent visit of President Rodrigo Duterte to China.

Based on DOT data, China has been consistently one of the region’s biggest sources of foreign visitors, with more than 100,000 Chinese visiting Western Visayas annually.

But annual Chinese tourist arrivals have dropped lately. From 205,613 Chinese tourists in 2013, it went down to 170,172 in 2014. It recovered slightly to 184,598 arrivals last year.

Majority of Chinese tourists headed for the beaches of Boracay Island in Aklan.

The international airport in Kalibo, the provincial capital of Aklan, has direct and chartered flights to and from Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chingdu, and Changsa.

If there are direct flights to and from mainland China at the Iloilo Airport, DOT-6 predicts a spillover of Chinese to tourist destinations in Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo provinces.

The DOT regional office is also closely coordinating with tourism offices of both the provincial and city governments of Iloilo for possible tourist business missions in China.