Bohol air fares on the way down as Panglao Int’l Airport starts operations

Air fares to and from Bohol province are expected to go down following the start of operations of the Bohol-Panglao International Airport, according to the local tourism office in the area.

The number of flights to and from Bohol is expected to increase with the opening of the new airport, and fares are expected to follow suit, said Josephine Cabarrus, head of the Bohol Tourism Office.

“For the longest time, we have been at the mercy of very expensive airfares. For instance, a one-way trip between Manila and Bohol at peak season can be around P8,000 to P10,000. Almost the same fare to Hong Kong,” she said.

“We’re hoping that with the operation of the new airport, the fares could be lower due to supply and demand,” Cabarrus said in a statement emailed by Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) on Thursday.

Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., the infrastructure arm of AEV, bagged the contract to operate and maintain the airport project from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) last year.

The new airport in Panglao island will replace the current airport in Tagbilaran City—which is currently serving around 800,000 passengers per year.

Bohol-Panglao International will be able to accommodate up to two million passengers a year.

Dubbed the “Green Gateway to the World,” the P8.9-billion airport is equipped with solar technology to run its hot water supply system that avoids 18 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

The airport was inaugurated by President Rodrigo Duterte in November.

“We have been trying to develop tourism areas and get the people out of Panglao and to other travel destinations in Bohol,” said Cabarrus.

Citing data from airport consultant ICF, Aboitiz Equity said tourism in Bohol grew at annual rate of 25.2 percent from 2011 to 2017, and by 30 percent from 2016 to 2017, to reach an estimated 1.3 million tourists.

“We’re looking at Bohol-Panglao airport to be a game changer for the economy of not only Panglao, but of the whole province,” said Cabarrus. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/ VDS, GMA News