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THE Manila Economic Cultural Office (MECO) is projecting a 7-percent
increase in Taiwanese tourist arrivals in the Philippines for this
year with the new low-budget flights offered by Cebu Air Inc.
The Gokongwei family-controlled Cebu Pacific,
the country’s second-biggest carrier, is planning to fly the
Manila-Taipei route starting end-January, Gerard Panga, the
Philippine tourism representative to Taiwan, said.
Panga said that Cebu Pacific, now the
country’s low-fare leader, has informed MECO, the government’s
representative office to Taiwan, of its plan to start commercial
flights to that route.
Currently, there are 38 flights between Manila
and Taipei every week, which involves several other carriers.
Cebu Pacific’s Manila-Taipei route will be its
latest regional destination after Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala
Lumpur and Singapore. The airline also flies to Incheon, South
Korea, via Subic.
However, the planned Cebu Pacific flights to
Taipei have yet to be finalized, and the company still has to secure
the necessary permits and licenses before flying that route.
“Our permits are still being processed and
there’s still no confirmation,” a company source said.
Panga said the additional flights may further
spur tourism growth for the Philippines and would benefit thousands
of Filipino workers employed in Taiwan.
Last year about 117,000 Taiwanese tourists
visited the Philippines.
--Angelo S. Samonte
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