MALAYSIAN low-fare airline AirAsia is set to connect Cebu and Thailand next month, although the flight details have yet to be revealed.
AirAsia Philippines CEO Dexter Comendador said Cebu’s connections to the rest of Southeast Asia will get a boost as the carrier, through its affiliate Thai AirAsia, will launch a direct flight from Cebu to Bangkok in July.
Thai AirAsia is a joint venture of AirAsia and Thailand’s Asia Aviation. It serves AirAsia’s domestic and international flights from Bangkok and other cities in Thailand. Earlier this year, AirAsia Philippines announced it is connecting Cebu to the cities of China—Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Shanghai.
By 2019, Captain Comendador said, they are eyeing to mount flights between Cebu and Japan as well as Cebu and South Korea.
Shared opportunities
“We already have (connections) from Cebu to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Taiwan. We are working on connecting Cebu to other countries in Southeast Asia with this new hub,” said Comendador, referring to the newly-inaugurated Terminal 2 of the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
“When AirAsia enters, it doesn’t only mean Philippines; other AirAsia (affiliates) will follow suit, similar to Davao-Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) opened a thrice-weekly Cebu-Bangkok service starting Dec. 2, 2017.
In past interviews, Rachakorn Saksri, director of Thai Trade Center, said during her visit to Cebu that while the Philippines and Thailand are working closely to boost trade, both economies are also working on growing tourism opportunities.
Although Thailand and the Philippines almost have the same tourism products, Saksri said another differentiating factor for Philippine tourism is its people. “Thai tourists come to the Philippines because of its people. You are friendly. It is more fun in the Philippines,” she said.
The Philippines and Thailand have resolved to revive a 23-year-old tourism cooperation agreement. The agreement states, among others, that the two countries shall encourage their local travel agents to develop a joint promotional program that would market both the Philippines and Thailand destinations in one tour package.
At least 11,783 tourists from Thailand were welcomed in Central Visayas last year, up by 38.59 percent from 8,502 arrivals in 2016. Cebu had a share of 9,951 arrivals from Thailand. (KOC)