DOT working out direct flights between Japan, Western Visayas

The Department of Tourism (DOT) in Western Visayas is working out some direct flights between Japan and the region, an Iloilo-based news site reported Tuesday.

 

DOT Western Visayas regional director Helen Catalbas said they will bring Japanese travel agents and media to a familiarization tour of the region before arranging for the direct flights.

 

Among the destinations to be featured are Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental, according to a report on Iloilo-based The Daily Guardian published Tuesday.

 

“We have to show them what we can offer. We need to place ourselves in the Japanese consciousness,” Catalbas said.

 

She said proposed flights from Japan may land in Iloilo and Kalibo, which already host direct flights to and from Hong Kong and Singapore.

 

“The Japanese want to directly reach their destination,” she said.

 

Catalbas was part of a Philippine Business Mission (PBM) trip to Japan in the last week of May.

 

The report quoted Catalbas as saying that while some 20 million Japanese tour the world, only 412,000 of them go to the Philippines.

 

Of this number, only 12,849 Japanese tourists went to Western Visayas in 2012. 

 

She said this is a "very low turnout," adding Japanese tourists are "big spenders, but they’re also after quality service.” —KG, GMA News