Cebu tourism stakeholders brace for Japanese influx

CEBU, Philippines —  Tourism stakeholders in Cebu are preparing for the influx of Japanese tourists as airlines are slowly opening direct flights to Japan.

In an interview with Cebu Alliance of Tour Operation Specialists Inc. (CATOS) president Alice Queblatin, she said aside from the return of Korean tourists, which is already happening now, Cebu is also anticipating the arrival of more Japanese travelers.

While interest from Japanese nationals to return to Cebu is high now, Queblatin said what is lacking is the availability of enough airline seats.

 “Koreans are here and hopefully, arrivals from Japan, we are waiting for their big return,” said Queblatin.

According to Queblatin, tourism stakeholders here are crossing fingers to see more high-spender Japanese tourists “I heard in July, there will be more seats,” she said.

Last May 1, 2023, Cebu Pacific resumed its Narita-Cebu roundtrip service. It is the fourth international destination of Cebu Pacific from Cebu, operating daily departing from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport at 2 a.m and arriving at 1:20 p.m. in Cebu for its turnaround flight.

Likewise, Philippine Airlines resumed its Cebu-Tokyo (Narita) four times a week every Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese has been a consistent top tourist source markets for Cebu.