Push Admin

DOT welcomes resumption of chartered flights to Boracay

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Tourists flock at the Boracay Island in April 2022. Jekki Pascual, ABS-CBN News/file" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tvpatrol/04/18/boracay.jpg"/><figcaption>Tourists flock at the Boracay Island in April 2022. <em>Jekki Pascual, ABS-CBN News/file</em></figcaption></figure></div><p><br/>MANILA — The Department of Tourism welcomed Monday the return of group travel and chartered flights to Boracay Island, as the Philippine tourism industry recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>DOT said it was optimistic on the &quot;continual recovery of the country&#x27;s tourism industry&quot; with the return of flights to Boracay from its top source markets including China.</p><p>On Apr. 18, Boracay welcomed some 180 Chinese tourists from a chartered OK Airlines flight from Changsha, China to Kalibo, Aklan. It was the first chartered flight from China since such trips reopened on Jan. 8.</p><p>DOT personnel then welcomed the group of Chinese tourists upon arrival in Kalibo for a &quot;preview of the warm Filipino hospitality.&quot;<br/> <br/>&quot;We are very happy to welcome the resumption of chartered flights from China into Kalibo. This only manifests the fact that Boracay remains a popular destination for Chinese tourists,&quot; Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said.</p><p>&quot;We shall aggressively pursue the promotion of sustainable and responsible tourism in Boracay so that more will come to enjoy its beauty in the long run,“ Frasco added.</p><p>DOT noted that Chinese tourists were top foreign visitors to Boracay before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, more than 434,000 Chinese nationals visited the island.</p><p>More than 1.7 million Chinese visitors also arrived in the Philippines by the end of 2019.</p><p>Because of this, Frasco has been pushing for visa reforms for the Philippines&#x27; top source markets to enter the country more easily.</p><p>Since April 11, all Philippine foreign service posts in China have resumed issuing Philippine visas to Chinese tour groups.</p><p>&quot;The DOT looks forward to equaling, if not surpassing, the number of Chinese visitors we received before the pandemic. We thank our partner agencies especially the Department of Foreign Affairs for heeding our appeal to resume the processing and issuance of Philippine visas to Chinese tour groups, shortly after we manifested the necessity of regaining China as our largest source of inbound travelers,&quot; Frasco said. </p><p>”We look forward to other interventions such as the implementation of an electronic visa system to facilitate the ease of entry into the country of our tourists,” she added.</p><p>Frasco earlier expressed her department&#x27;s intentions to maintain strong ties with China&#x27;s Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MOCT), which earlier included the Philippines among the 20 nations to be part of its pilot areas for outbound tourism group tours.</p><p>&quot;The Department currently has two satellite offices in mainland China, one in Beijing and another in Shanghai that facilitate the assistance in the promotion and marketing of Philippine tourism to the Chinese market,&quot; the DOT said.</p><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CjkLW4KYU38?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Department of Tourism welcomed Monday the return of group travel and chartered flights to Boracay Island.