INBOUND tour operators from Cebu are looking forward to the launch of several new regional and longhaul flights that will enable the resort destination to further grow arrivals from Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Eva Air will commence four weekly flights between Taipei and Cebu on March 27; Emirates will fly between Dubai and Cebu via Clark from March 30; Philippine Airlines will add a link between Los Angeles and Cebu in March.
Matt Poonin, manager, sales and marketing at Travelite Travel & Tours in Cebu, said his company is developing the Taiwanese market further by joining a roadshow being planned by the Central Visayas Department of Tourism to Taipei later this year.
Poonin anticipates the new flights by Emirates will also result in increased arrivals from Central Europe, especially from France, Germany and the Netherlands.
He said Travelite had developed new tours combining Cebu and Bohol as well as Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor for the European markets. Water activities will be highlighted in these packages.
Poonin has also just received a request from an automotive distributor in Paris for an incentive trip to Cebu, flying via Emirates from Paris to Dubai then to Clark and ultimately to Cebu.
Destination Specialists inbound manager, Marlyn Ebora, said: “Currently, most Europeans to Cebu like to travel by Singapore Airlines to Manila and then take a connecting flight to Cebu. Emirates has now provided another option and competition is good for consumers as it may result in more competitive airfares.
“We expect the new flights to draw more Europeans and we are working with hoteliers and ground transportation companies to offer better rates for European visitors.”
Emirates’ new services to Cebu come hot on the heels of the Philippines’ push to attract more Muslim tourists. One of the challenges Cebu currently faces in the pursuit of Muslim travellers is the lack of Muslim-friendly restaurants and facilities, but these issues are being addressed.
Rowena Lu Mentecillo, regional director of the Department of Tourism (DoT), Bohol and Cebu, said the DoT Central Office together with the National Commission of Muslim Filipinos had recently conducted a halal project briefing to 10 hoteliers in Cebu.
This will eventually lead to accreditation of Muslim-friendly restaurants and facilities.
Alice Queblatin, managing director, Southwind Travel & Tours (Cebu), told TTG Asia e-Daily that Qatar Airways is considering coming back to Cebu which used to serve from Doha five years ago. Should that happen, Cebu will get a further boost in arrivals from new markets in the Middle East and Europe.
Queblatin added that the forthcoming service from Los Angeles, operated by Philippine Airlines, will be targeted at mainstream Americans rather than Filipinos residing there. The Cebu travel trade will join a DoT roadshow to the US at the end of this month.
Mary Grace Paulino, tourism officer with the Cebu Provincial Government, said the province is getting an increasing number of arrivals, flights and investors.
In preparation for this, the province has started building a second terminal at the Mactan International Airport which will be operational in 2018.
Additional reporting from S Puvaneswary
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