Tourist seaplanes to start in November

At least two units of seaplanes will start operating next month, this according to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

In a press conference yesterday, the mayor said Air Juan Seaplane is finalizing the floating dock for its seaplane services at the South Road Properties.

“It's projecting that the future tourism in Cebu or even the Visayas will be the islands. We can see the sprouting of different resorts and we will be attracting a higher level of clients, mga jetsetters,” he said.

The mayor earlier said that initial agreement with Air Juan Seaplane was that fare would range from P1,000 to P2,000 per person.

Osmeña said small planes are usually more expensive per seat than regular commercial jets, so to keep prices down, the expense will be partially subsidized by resorts the seaplane provides direct access to.

The mayor said the city will also be helping the neighboring islands in showcasing what they have.

He said that with the seaplane service, the city aims to attract “higher level” guests to visit the city and the nearby islands.

He said, though, that there are no regular flight details on the operations yet.

Initially, he said, the first route will be from the SRP directly to Lakawon Island in Negros Occidental, and later on expand to Panglao Island in Bohol Province, Malapascua Island in Daanbantayan town, and in Sumilon Island in Oslob town.

The mayor posted the announcement on his official Facebook account which gained over 3,600 reactions and 424 shares as of 4:24 p.m. yesterday.

“Promoting Cebu as an access point for other parts of the country will boost our international and domestic tourism greatly; we have almost 10 direct flights every day from Korea alone; if potential tourists realize that you can fly directly from Cebu to the very beach of the resort you're staying in, many more will come. Europeans, who typically take longer holidays, can be particularly marketed to for this,” read part of his post.

Osmeña said the city government will make sure that tourists will be attracted to come to Cebu, which he said is “easier and more attractive” compared to Manila, which like Cebu is also a major entry point in the country.

He envisioned the seaplane service to encourage development in the countryside.

“You cannot force a businessman to build in the middle of nowhere; you must show him that there's a market for it and that it's the right decision to make. This will decongest our urban centers, encourage development outside, and boost our economy with the infusion of foreign currency,” he said.

The mayor said seaplane services would be a faster and more convenient mode of transportation for tourists who can afford to spend more bucks.

Demecillo / RHM