The Department of Tourism (DOT) lauds the newly amended air pact which allows 7 flights per week on a B747 aircraft, accommodating more than 500 passengers, between Manila to points in the United Kingdom (UK) which include London, Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead.
“We support the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) in their move to improve the air agreement between the country and the UK. Identifying these key destinations is a clear indicator of the strength of our market in these regions,” said Ace Durano, Secretary of Tourism.
The European market, tagged as one of the high-spending tourism segments, is targeted for its preference of adventure tourism which includes aquatic activities such as kayaking, scuba diving, board sports, surfing and white water rafting; and land adventures such as mountain biking, rock climbing, cave exploration and trekking, Durano shared.
“In addition to aggressive promotion of our products, we are continuously developing new tourism ventures, such as birdwatching, for this major segment,” the tourism chief further said.
“The air pact amendment is very timely as well, since we have more leisure travelers beginning August when summer season in Europe starts,” shared Eduardo Jarque, Jr., Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions.
In light of the new agreement, Jarque also said, “Some of our domestic airlines have already expressed their desire to open flights in the United Kingdom.”
At present, the Philippine Airlines has conveyed plans to launch direct flights to UK, according to a source from the CAB.
Part of the agreement is the inclusion of fifth-freedom rights, which means that aircrafts can pick up passengers in a third country before proceeding to its destination.
Since the beginning of the year, CAB has held several air bilateral negotions with the following destinations Spain, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
