THE upcoming Davao-Hong Kong direct flight by Cathay Pacific is expected to bring more tourists to Davao City.
On Monday, April 30, Cathay Pacific announced through its official website that they will be launching non-stop flights between Davao City and Hong Kong starting October 28. It will be operated by Cathay Dragon, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific.
City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) head Generose Tecson welcomed this development. She said Davao tourism stakeholders have been pushing for direct international flights to improve the city’s accessibility.
“Cathay Pacific’s Davao-Hong Kong will be a very welcome addition and with Hong Kong being a gateway, we expect more visitor arrivals to the city not just from Hong Kong but other countries as well,” Tecson told SunStar Davao.
Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) president Arturo Milan, for his part, said this will boost tourism and business activities not just in the city but in the entire Davao Region and Mindanao.
He expressed hope that more foreign destinations will be linked directly to Davao this year.
With more local and international direct flights opening in Davao, Milan said it is already high time that the Francisco Bangoy International Airport (FBIA) be improved. He reiterated the need for the airport to be privatized.
“Currently it (FBIA) is already quite congested. Therefore the upgrading of the Davao International Airport terminal is already necessary. Also, it is now time that the airport becomes an authority so it will not be dependent always to the central office for its operational requirements and management,” Milan said.
The new Davao-Hong Kong direct flight will be served by an Airbus A320 aircraft every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. This new route is also seen to complement the existing services of Cathay Pacific to and from Manila, Cebu, and Clark.
Davao City is the newest destination of the Cathay Pacific group as part of its expansion this year. The other new destination that was launched alongside Davao City is Medan, Indonesia.
Cathay Pacific chief customer and commercial officer Paul Loo said in a statement that the new services reflect the group’s commitment to growing its reach to destinations not otherwise served directly from Hong Kong, providing customers with more choice and strengthening Hong Kong’s status as Asia’s largest international aviation hub.
"Our convenient new services will capture the demand from Hong Kong and beyond, while at the same time providing customers in the Philippines and Indonesia with more options when connecting to the Cathay Pacific Group’s extensive Mainland China and international networks,” Loo said.