MORE FLIGHTS TO GUANGXI, INCHEON SOON

Tourism department closes a deal with Chinese stateowned Guangxi Tourism Development Group Co. for chartered flights directly connecting Guangxi province to Cebu, Clark, and Davao. In two weeks, PAL will also launch a daily Tagbilaran-Incheon service.

Cebu and Bohol are expected to log more arrivals from China’s Guangxi Province and Incheon, South Korea, with a recently signed arrangement to organize chartered flights.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) announced it has closed a deal with Chinese state-owned Guangxi Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd. to mount chartered flights directly from Guangxi province to Davao, Cebu, and Clark.

The chartered flights will be added to the list of air carriers that directly serve 13 Chinese cities for trips to Manila, Kalibo, Cebu, and Laoag. The DOT won the flight deal during the country’s attendance in the “Belt and Road” forum last month.

“This undertaking will open up secondary gateways in the Philippines to the Chinese market and bring in additional tourists from mainland China,” Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said in a statement.

“We are excited about Guangxi’s commitment, as we tap the 55-million population of what is considered the Asian center of economy and finance,” she added.

Last week, Cebu welcomed the launching of China Eastern Airline’s direct flights from Cebu to Canton and Cebu to Shanghai, stating this month and in October, respectively.

At present, there are four Cebu to China flights. Before the end of the year, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. expects the number of flights to increase by 10. Currently, Mactan Cebu International Airport is connected to 18 international destinations and 29 domestic routes with 21 partner carriers.

Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines’ new flight from Tagbilaran City to Incheon, South Korea starting on June 22 is a welcome development to the province’s tourism industry, recently challenged by the arrival of 11 mem- bers of the Abu Sayyaf Group. (All have since been killed in encounters with the military and police and, in one case, an attempt to escape from detention.)

DOT 7 Officer-in-Charge Judy Gabato said that Bohol’s connection to South Korea will usher in opportunities for travel and tourism not only for the province but for the rest of Central Visayas region.

“This will give Bohol access to Koreans, which is a fast- growing tourist source market,” said Gabato.

Acting Provincial Administrator Mitchel John Boiser was quoted in a report that the new flights would have “multiplier effects” on the development of Bohol.

Koreans remain the top group of foreign visitors in Bohol, based on the 2016 data from the Bohol Tourism Office.

Tagbilaran City will become the sixth destination served by PAL that will have a direct link to South Korea via Incheon. The new service to Incheon will depart from Tagbilaran City at 5:20 p.m. daily and arrive in South Korea some six hours later.