The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO)
is beefing up promotions to attract more tourists from Taiwan.
The closure of two casinos in Subic has
reduced the number of arrivals from Taiwan.
Gerard Panga, Philippine tourism
representative to Taiwan, said MECO is looking forward to the
launch of the Manila-Taipei service of Gokongwei-owned Cebu Air
Inc. (CEB) by the end of the month in time for the winter break
of Taiwanese tourists.
Panga said CEB’s budget rates will attract
more Filipino workers in Taiwan to visit their families.
The no-frills airline is the country’s second
biggest carrier and would add to the current 39 flights a week
between the Philippines and Taiwan.
CEB is still in the process of securing the
necessary permits and licenses from the Civil Aeronautics Board.
It would be recalled that the cessation of
flights in the late 1990s for more than a year between Manila
and Taipei has slashed the number of Taiwanese tourists by
roughly 6,000.
Panga said the declaration of a state of
emergency in early 2006 also led to about 1,000 Taiwanese
tourists dropping their plans to visit the country.
Last year, two casinos in Subic closed down.
Legenda stopped operations last May and Diamond, last September.
For this reason, Panga estimates tourism
arrivals from Taiwan in 2006 fell to 117,000 from 123,000 in
2005. In 2004, some 114,000 Taiwanese tourists arrived in the
Philippines.
This year, the Philippine tourism office
expects a seven percent increase in tourist arrivals from
Taiwan.
At 38 flights a week, the Philippines pales
in comparison with its neighbors such as Thailand, Malaysia and
Vietnam.
According to Panga, the Philippine carriers
are limited to Manila although this could be used as a
sub-gateway for other destinations. One Taiwanese airline, Far
Eastern, flies from Subic to Kaohsiung.
Panga said government is also promoting
Bacolod as a new tourism site with the upgrade of the airport. A
tour of the Cojuangco orchard in Bacolod, where fruit picking
will be allowed, is also being considered as one of the
attractions.
Panga also said Busuanga where major
investments in ecotourism and airpor are being poured is also
another destination.
If CEB pushes through with its Taipei flights, it will the
company’s latest regional destination next to Bangkok, Hong
Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Cebu Pacific also
flies to Incheon, South Korea via Subic.
