CEBU CITY – The tourism industry in Cebu is expected to attract more visitors from South Korea following Jeju Air’s inaugural flight here from Daeg City in North Gyeongsang province.
Louie Ferrer, president of the GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC), operator of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), said the flight carried 173 passengers. He thanked Jeju Air for choosing Cebu as its destination of future flights. “We are glad to welcome Jeju Air’s inaugural flight from Daegu and we thank them for expanding their network in Cebu,” he said.
Ferrer led other officials from the MCIA’s private operator, GMCAC, along with the representatives from Jeju Air and the Department of Tourism (DOT) in Central Visayas, in greeting the arriving passengers with warm smiles, colorful leis, and offered them Cebu’s dried sweet mangoes.
The Asian market, Ferrer said, continues to be among the strongest in Cebu, with Koreans comprising 42.5 percent of international visitors in 2018. He said the Koreans were followed by Japan and China at 16% and 11%, respectively.
DOT also announced that South Korea continues to be the Philippines top tourist market for the first half of this year, followed by China, and Japan.
“We continue to work on opening more connections to Cebu from our Asian neighbors. Cebu’s central location is highly strategic, with most domestic tourist destinations only an hour’s flying time or less,” Ferrer said. “Our goal is to establish MCIA as a hub for flights to the Philippines and even (to) other Asian countries.”
Jeju Air started its direct service from MCIA to Daegu on September 18. The carrier will operate the Cebu-Daegu route four times weekly every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
For this route, Jeju Air will use Boeing 737-800 with a passenger capacity of 189, all-economy seats. Keunwoo Lee, station manager of Jeju Air, expressed delight in seeing Cebu by himself. “We are thrilled to grow our network in MCIA because we see Cebu as a bustling city, yet it still has many scenic tourist spots which entices the Korean travelers,” Lee said.
Daegu is the fourth destination in South Korea operated by Jeju Air. Currently, Jeju Air also flies to Incheon, Pusan, and Muan.
GMCAC Chief Commercial Advisor Ravishankar Saravu said another Korean low-cost carrier T’Way Air also operates a Cebu-Daegu direct service which started in December 2016. “South Korea is a favorite leisure destination for many Filipinos.
By launching this direct service, Jeju Air is offering more options for Filipinos to explore new and exciting destinations in South Korea,” he said. Daegu is known for the Daegu Yangnyeongsi Oriental Medicine Cultural Center that traces the history of local medical traditions.
The MCIA is currently connected to 28 domestic destinations and 23 international destinations with nine Philippine-based and 17 foreign airline partners. (John Rey Saavedra)
Like Us on Facebook: The Mindanao Examiner
Like Us on Facebook: The Zamboanga Post
Follow Us on Twitter: Mindanao Examine
Read And Share Our News: Mindanao Examiner Website
Mirror Site: Mindanao Examiner Blog
Digital Archives: Mindanao Examiner Digital
Media Rates: Advertising Rates