DOT partners with Royal Air for more China flights

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) has partnered with air carrier Royal Air to mount more chartered flights between China and the Philippines.

The tourism department said it is working with Royal Air to mount chartered flights between Macau and the Subic Bay International Airport seven times a week.

Royal Air is a registered air carrier in the Philippines which was granted the right to provide chartered air services through a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) issued by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) in May 2017.

Undersecretary for Tourism Development and official spokesperson Benito Bengzon Jr. said Royal Air is among the DOT’s airline partners it is working with to bring in tourists from China.

“Through our route development team, we are providing marketing support to air carriers to increase tourist traffic to underutilized international gateways in the Philippines such as the Subic Bay International Airport,”Bengzon said.

Royal Air plans to mount daily flights from Macau to Subic Bay on a daily frequency using a 97-seater aircraft producing additional 697 international air seats or about 35,308 seats per year from China.

Subic Bay is a special economic zone in the Philippines that allows the entry of foreign nationals without the required visa for a maximum of 14 days.

“This is a good opportunity for Philippine tourism as Chinese nationals do not need to queue in our consular offices in China to secure the entry visa to the Philippines,” Bengzon said.

“Subic Bay has a lot to offer to leisure and business travelers with its natural, cultural, and adventure attractions coupled with world class accommodations and other tourist facilities,”the undersecretary added.

Royal Air has just inaugurated its new Macau to Mactan Cebu International Airport (CEB) route last June 21.The new Macau-CEB route has daily frequency using the same type of aircraft producing a total of 35,308 international air seats per year from China.

The carrier also flies from Macau to Lallo International Airport in Cagayan using BAE RJ-100 aircraft with 97 mono-class seat capacity on a four-times per week schedule.

China is currently the country’s fastest growing source of tourists.

In the first five months, Chinese arrivals jumped 43.8 percent to 559,289.