PNoy hopes lifting of EU ban on PAL will further boost PHL tourism

President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday expressed hope that the European Union's (EU) decision to lift the ban on flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will further boost tourism in the country.

Aquino trumpeted the Philippines' aviation status upgrade during the visit of 479 ambassadors, consul generals and tourism directors at the Malacañang on Thursday morning.

"The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines or CAAP has also been working long nights to allow carriers to offer direct flights from the Philippines to Europe and to more destinations in the United States. Today, I am pleased to announce that they have made stunning progress," the President said in his speech during the event.

He particularly credited Lt. Gen. William Hotchkiss III, CAAP director general, for the lifting of the EU ban on the Philippine carrier.

"Hopefully, this development will give them the extra energy they need to pursue all our other goals in the aviation sector," Aquino said.

EU allows PAL into Europe's skies

On Wednesday, EU delegation head in the Philippines Guy Ledoux announced that the European Air Safety Committee in Brussels has lifted the air ban on PAL effective Friday.

The lifting of the ban came three years after the EU blocked direct flights from the Philippines based on “safety assessments by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).”

PAL president Ramon Ang said that the flag carrier’s first flight to Europe will be in September or October, with Paris, London, Rome and Amsterdam as the first destinations.

In a statement, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the reopening of direct flight routes from the Philippines to Europe "will boost tourism, enhance competitiveness, and facilitate the entry of investments from the Eurozone."

Other tourism gains

Aside from the aviation upgrade, Aquino also boasted of the Philippines' other gains in the tourism sector during the event.

He particularly praised the "highly successful" campaign launched by the Department of Tourism last year, captured in the slogan, "It's More Fun in the Philippines."

"The secret of our campaign (is that) we are not mouthing a marketing slogan. We are simply repeating a basic truth," Aquino said.

He also lauded the increasing number of international tourist arrivals in the Philippines, which reached 4.3 million for the first time last year.

"From the beginning, we in this administration decided that not only could it be done, but that it could be done sooner rather than later. We identified tourism as a low-lying fruit that needed to be picked; from day one, we have worked to grow tourism in the Philippines to the industry that it could become," he said.

Aquino also pledged to ensure that ordinary Filipinos will benefit from the country's tourism gains.

"I also hope that in the few days you have spent here, you have seen the can-do attitude and the renewed confidence that have revitalized the Philippines. We are once again an up-and-coming place, respected in the community of nations, where families are moving forward as we strive for inclusive growth," he told foreign dignitaries at the Palace. — KBK, GMA News