THE Davao City government is pushing for a Sennan City-Davao City direct flight, a city councilor said.
“In terms of [boosting our] tourism, we are pushing for a direct flight from Osaka to Davao in Kansai Airport,” Councilor Bernard E. Al-ag, committee on trade, commerce and industry chair of the Davao City council, said in an ambush interview, May 1.
The said plan is part of strengthening Sennan City, a city in Osaka prefecture in Japan, and Davao City ties, as both cities signed the Sister City Agreement last April 25.
Al-ag said this move is expected to boost tourism for both cities, particularly if a direct flight from Osaka to Davao in Kansai Airport is established.
“In terms of promoting Davao City in Japan, dako kaayo atong leverage ani (we have a big leverage for this), Shennan City will promote Davao City to the whole Osaka prefecture,” Al-ag said.
“Dagha’g wala kaila’g Davao City didto, labi na mga local Japanese... [so the direct flight] dili lang kita mo-benifit ana, sila pod (Many local Japanese don’t know Davao City, so the flight must benefit both cities involved),” Al-ag added.
Al-ag said the city government officials led by Mayor Sebastian Duterte were in talks with the Japan-based All Nippon Airways (ANA). However, the airlines told the Davao City delegation that “they are not ready to fly outside Manila”.
"They (ANA) said they are not yet ready to fly outside Manila because they are still recovering, so we are looking at Cebu Pacific and we will meet (with them) since we already have a partner in Osaka," Al-ag said in a mix of English and Bisaya.
Japan has experienced a surge in arrivals from the Philippines since opening its borders to leisure tourists and easing travel restrictions in October 2022, according to Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)-Manila in a report by SunStar Cebu.
In 2022, Japan welcomed 126,900 Filipino visitors, with a notable increase during the fourth quarter: 14,775 in October, 21,700 in November, and a staggering 40,000 in December. Before the pandemic, Japan registered more than 600,000 tourists from the Philippines in 2019. ICE