Thursday, June 19, 2008 [ manilatimes.net ]
WITH the Taiwan-based Mandarin Airlines launching direct flights from Taipei to Kalibo Aklan, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is expecting more Taiwanese travelers to visit Boracay, the country’s premier tourist destination.
“The opening of the new flights will definitely help us claim a good share of the booming Taiwanese outbound market. By going straight to Kalibo, we further encourage travelers from Taipei to visit more of the Philippines and show the many holiday experiences awaiting them,” Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said, following the recent inauguration of the Taipei-to-Kalibo route of Mandarin Airlines, a sister company of China Airlines.
Aboard a B737-800 aircraft, some 160 Taiwanese visitors took the maiden flight from Taipei to Kalibo, one of the major gateways to Boracay. The Taiwanese visitors were welcomed in Boracay with traditional folk dances and other festivities organized by the DOT Team Asia Pacific Head Rica Bueno and Undersecretary for Sports and Wellness Cynthia Carrion.
Kalibo is the airline’s fourth destination in the Philippines. Mandarin airlines will have regular flights to Kalibo every Wednesday and Saturday. It also has regular flights to Cebu and is expected to resume its flights to Laoag. It also previously operated flights to Subic.
Eric Tung, General Manager of Mandarin Airlines’ Philippines branch said the decision to add Kalibo to their routes was due to the overwhelming market demand from Taiwanese travelers to go to Boracay.
“Our flight to Kalibo is good news to Taiwanese travelers because they can now enjoy Boracay. The DOT and other concerned agencies have given a lot of assistance so we can fly to Kalibo,” Tung said.
Tung said that because of the overwhelming demand, the next six flights to Kalibo are all fully booked.
Taiwanese tourist arrivals reached 9,486 for the month of April 2008. This is 36.2 percent better than the 6,965 number recorded in April 2007.
For this year, Boracay expects some 700,000 foreign visitors and that figure is expected to grow to one million by 2010. -- Rommel C. Lontayao
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