Albay to inaugurate Bicol International Airport

Albay will inaugurate this month its newly completed runway and break ground for Bicol International Airport (BIA) in Barangay Alobo.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda has worked for the completion of the BIA as chair of the Bicol Regional Development Council for nine years.

The airport is envisioned to open the floodgates for international tourism in Southern Luzon and contribute significantly to the country’s economic development.

“The completion of the international airport, the only international gateway south of Manila in Luzon, augurs well for the tourism prospects of Albay, the Almasor (Albay-Masbate-Sorsogon Tourism Alliance) and Bicolandia,” Salceda said.

Albay recently won the Pacific Asia Travel Association CEO Challenge, as a new global frontiers destination, and earned the branding assistance of Trip Advisor, a globally known travel marketing group.

The province is now a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, and its crown jewel in tourism Mayon Volcano, tentatively listed as a World Heritage Site.

Salceda received last year the DOT’s First Star Tourism Award after his province recorded a phenomenal tourism growth from 8,700 in 2007 to 339,000 in 2013, with 63 percent growth rate.

He thanked President Aquino for helping the project push through, saying BIA will be beneficial to overseas Filipino workers, businessmen and international travellers who are assured of ease of access to Bicol with less traffic and congestion.