Travel agencies expect boom in outbound sales

THE Cebu Tours and Travel Association (CTTA) is expecting more Cebuanos to fly to Taiwan after the country extended its visa-free agreement with the Philippines.

Angelita Dy, president of CTTA, said it would help their industry since the agreement would make it easier for Filipinos to enter Taiwan, coupled with discounted fares and tours.

“When free visa agreements happen, there will be lots of Cebuanos who will go to Taipei. We are very happy that it was extended because it helps a lot in our business,” she said.

In a statement, the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) announced that the visa-free privilege for Filipinos will continue for another year from Aug. 1, 2019 to July 31, 2020.

Various discounted airfares and tours were marketed during the opening of the 3rd Grand Travel Bazaar (GTB) in Friday, July 5, 2019. The travel expo will run until Sunday, July 7, at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu.

This year’s GTB is joined by nine top travel agencies, namely, Cebu Fortune Travel, Destination Specialist, Global Link Travel, Grand Hope Travel, Leisure Travel & Tours, Pan Pacific, Royal Prince Travel, Travelways and Uni-Orient. Seven airlines, namely, Cathay Pacific, Philippine Airlines, Eva Air, Silk Air, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air and Turkish Airlines also participated in the three-day travel expo.

Traveling made easy

“All airlines are giving big discounts to top international destinations like Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan,” said Dy.

Discounts to popular countries like Europe and Turkey are also available for travelers who have been saving their hard-earned money to visit these “dream destinations.”

Dy said that with banks offering “travel now, pay later” deals, traveling to countries outside Asia is now accessible. Banks now offer easy installment schemes of at least three months.

“A lot of Cebuanos are going to Europe, especially that there are a lot of discounts and promos from the airlines. Filipinos are now very open to travel abroad and are really saving money for it,” Dy said.

A buyer, who requested anonymity, said travel bazaars help because consumers gets affordable deals.

She bought plane tickets for her in-laws who are going to Hong Kong for medical purposes.

“When you book online, it doesn’t have an option where you can pay for the airfares in three months time so these travel bazaars really benefit us,” she told SunStar Cebu. JOB