The Department of Tourism and the Philippine Airlines have formally recently launched the flag carrier’s new direct flights from Singapore to Cebu, a few hours after President Rodrigo Duterte concluded his two-day state visit to the Lion City.
The fully-booked maiden flight left Changi International Airport at 2:45 a.m., with mostly Filipinos on board who are taking the holiday break in the Philippines.
The Tourism department sealed the deal with PAL as part of its route development program.
“The lifeblood of Philippine tourism is connectivity. We are an archipelago and most of the tourists can reach us only by air. That is why I consider initiatives like this as critical to the continuing development of our tourism market. We are opening more gateways and with it, wider access for visitors,” Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said.
“Cebu is a premier city of Visayas. Its continuing fame as a destination is unquestioned. We now have the chance to make this not only a main tourist attraction—but also a major hub from which travelers can hop to as many of destinations in Visayas as possible,” Teo added, hoping this will be the start of many routes to come.
The new route is an addition to the growing number of international air access in the Philippines that includes Guangzhou-Kalibo, Hangzhou-Kalibo, Hangzhou-Cebu, Shanghai-Cebu, Shanghai-Kalibo, Nanjing-Cebu, and the soon-to-be-launched Vanilla Air’s Tokyo-Cebu direct flights.
Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Antonio Morales expressed confidence that the inaugural flight “will further entice Singaporean citizens and permanent residents to visit the Philippines.”