OUTBOUND tourism is as important as inbound tourism.
This is what I learned during my days as a business reporter. While pushing local tourism is a good strategy to boost the country’s tourism industry, it is also never wise to leave outbound tourism behind. The tourism sector must diversify its sources to allow the whole tourism ecosystem to thrive.
Outbound tourism, according to the World Trade Organization, is the activities of residents of a given country traveling to and staying in places outside their country of residence and outside their usual environment for not more than 12 consecutive months for leisure, business and other purposes.
We’re discussing this because the Philippines’ largest budget airline, Cebu Pacific (PSE: CEB), just launched on Monday, October 9, 2023, its newest campaign “Juander Far and Wide.”
The campaign aims to encourage more Filipinos to travel outside the country given the friendly rates the airline offers to the flying public. This cements their commitment to enable the public to wander far and wide with their 25 international destinations across 14 countries.
Supporting this campaign is their much-anticipated inaugural of their Manila-Da Nang, Vietnam route on December 7. The airline will fly three times weekly to this new destination. This is also their third direct link to Vietnam.
Increased int’l capacity by 63%
CEB Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Candice Iyog announced to all guests during the stakeholders luncheon that their international capacity is up by 63 percent of its pre-pandemic level as they’re expected to end 2023 with over 700,000 more international seats than last year.
“In Cebu Pacific, we believe in making first moments happen. As such, we are grateful to all our passengers who have chosen to fly with us for their first international trips all these years. We hope to continue being a part of these wonderful memories with our customers as we aim to expand our operations and enable them to juander far and wide,” Iyog said.
CEB is also taking fleet expansion more seriously this year as they already accepted 12 aircraft deliveries and is expecting to receive seven more before the end of 2023. This is crucial to meet the increasing demand for air travel and strengthen its operational resiliency.
“This will help us continue to open new destinations and offer more low fares to our guests,” she added.
Of course, they’re not letting the month of October pass without offering its famous seat sale. This time, CEB has ongoing seat sale until October 15 which allows passengers to book their flights to select domestic and international destinations for as low as P88 one-way base fare, exclusive of surcharges and other fees. Travel period is from October 10, 2023 to April 30, 2024.
While strengthening its global reach, CEB is also expanding its domestic network as it currently serves 35 local destinations across major cities and provinces in the country.
***
For suggestions, comments, and questions, email me at aceperez.manlalakbay@gmail.com. Follow me on social media @acejunerell