NEW ROUTE. Passengers disembark from a Cebu Pacific aircraft at the Tacloban Airport in this undated photo. The opening of an air route connecting Eastern Visayas to Mindanao through the Davao-Tacloban-Davao flight will bring more development to the region’s tourism and business sectors, tourism and business stakeholders said on Wednesday (Aug. 14, 2024). (Photo courtesy of DOT- 8)
TACLOBAN CITY – The opening of an air route connecting Eastern Visayas to Mindanao through the Davao-Tacloban-Davao flight will bring more development to the region’s tourism and business sectors, tourism and business stakeholders said on Wednesday.
Department of Tourism (DOT) 8 (Eastern Visayas) Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said the plan to open the route between Tacloban and Davao by Cebu Pacific this October is a big factor in promoting the region to the Mindanao market and in making Tacloban a MICE destination.
MICE, which stands for meetings, incentives, conferences, and events/exhibitions, is one of the DOT’s major programs to attract more tourists and visitors.
Tacloban City, along with Ormoc City and Baybay City, are positioned by the regional tourism office as MICE destinations in Eastern Visayas due to the presence of facilities, such as convention centers and big hotels that can accommodate many visitors.
Tiopes said they need the help of all stakeholders, especially tour operators, to ensure the sustainability of the flights by intensifying the promotion and marketing of tour packages for the region to their counterparts in Davao and other parts of Mindanao.
“Going to Davao, there is a market because they regularly host MICE activities. The challenge is going back to the region. This is now in the hands of our local government units, our private stakeholders, and our tour operators to intensify their promotion of Eastern Visayas destinations to the Davao market,” she added.
Focusing on MICE activities helps increase tourist arrivals in the region due to the large number of attendees who stay for several days and do post-conference tours.
Association of Leyte Tour Operators (ALTO) president Ludette Ruiz agreed that this new plane route offers a huge market for tour operators in Eastern Visayas.
“We need to reach out to the market in Davao for them to come over. With this flight offering, it is easier and more accessible, unlike before, when they needed to pass by Cebu or Manila before reaching Tacloban,” Ruiz said, adding that it is also cost-efficient and less time-consuming.
With the region becoming more accessible to the Mindanao market, more tourists will have a chance to visit Eastern Visayas and explore tour packages offered by various provinces.
The availability of the Davao-Tacloban-Davao flights not only benefits the tourism sector but also the business community in the region, according to ALTO vice president Rhoel Ladera, who is also the public relations officer of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tacloban-Leyte chapter.
“Businessmen from Davao can now visit the region and look for areas where they can put their potential investments,” Ladera said.
Cebu Pacific earlier announced that its fleet will fly from Davao to Tacloban three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays starting in October.
Aside from the Davao-Tacloban-Davao flights, the airline is also expected to offer the Iloilo-Tacloban-Iloilo flight, which it offered in 2012 but stopped due to the devastation brought by Super Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013. (PNA)
