The government and commercial airlines may seize a “golden opportunity” found in the province of Palawan, as the island could act as a buffer zone that could potentially reduce the impact of the closure of Boracay on the aviation and tourism sectors in the Philippines.
Capa Center for Aviation, a think tank based in Sydney Australia, noted in a report that the government and the private sector may promote Palawan as an alternative destination to foreign visitors, as the island’s beaches continue to pique the interest of tourists.
“Successfully promoting Palawan with travel agents in China and Korea and moving crews from Kalibo to Puerto Princesa would not be easy,” it said.
Philippine Airlines (PAL), Philippines AirAsia and Cebu Pacific operate several international flights in and out of Kalibo International Airport—one of the two gateways to the island of Boracay. AirAsia currently holds the lion’s share of Kalibo’s international traffic.
“However, this is a golden opportunity for Palawan, and is also a worthwhile investment from federal tourism authorities, as successfully moving Kalibo’s international flights to Puerto Princesa could help avoid a decline in total visitor numbers to the Philippines after the closure of Boracay.”
Kalibo currently has an average of 24 daily return flights, with about 60,000 weekly seats. It has three domestic destinations and 13 international destinations.
Capa said Palawan is one of the best destinations in the Philippines that could easily absorb traffic that was supposed to be for Boracay, given the recent upgrade in its airport infrastructure.
“There is an opportunity for tourism authorities on Palawan Island, an emerging tourist destination, to attract AirAsia international flights from China and South Korea. Puerto Princesa Airport, the main gateway to Palawan, opened a new international terminal in 2017,” the think tank said.
Boracay is the third -largest aviation market in the Philippines, after Manila and Cebu.
Its closure will have an impact on the three carriers, as Boracay accounts for approximately 6 percent of traffic at Cebu Pacific and PAL, and 22 percent at AirAsia.
Philippine authorities have decided to close the island for six months starting April 26, as various government agencies start addressing the health and environmental messes on the island.
“Once Boracay reopens, the new Puerto Princesa flights could continue, since Philippines AirAsia, PAL and Cebu Pacific all have enough aircraft on order to support maintaining any new flights to Puerto Princesa—or other alternative tourist destinations—at the same time as resuming the Kalibo flights,” Capa noted.
Carriers scale down flights
Local carriers have decided to scale down their flights to the bare minimum in support of the government’s decision to temporarily close or limit access to Boracay for urgent major environmental rehabilitation of the island.
Philippine Airlines will scale down its services to Caticlan and Kalibo airports for a six-month period beginning late-April.
It will, thus, operate nine weekly flights between Manila and Kalibo and seven weekly flights between Manila and Caticlan to maintain continued links to these gateways to Boracay and Aklan province.
All other Caticlan and Kalibo flights from Manila will be suspended from April 20 to October 27, while flights to Caticlan from Cebu and Clark will be suspended from April 26 to October 27.
Cebu Pacific is also limiting its flights to both airports from its different hubs in the Philippines. From April 26 to October 27, flights between Manila and Kalibo will be limited to seven per week. Flights from Manila to Caticlan and Cebu to Caticlan will also be scaled down to seven.
AirJuan, on the other hand, will cancel all its flights between Tagbilaran and Caticlan from April 26 to October 25, but will continue operating its operations between Busuanga and Caticlan, and a limited service between Cuyo and Caticlan. Philippines AirAsia has yet to release official route plans for its Kalibo and Caticlan operations, but its chief executive said flights will also be scaled down.
“The impact of Boracay closure on our operation is almost insignificant compared to its effect on our guests, especially those who have saved up their money to be able travel this summer,” Philippines AirAsia CEO Dexter Comendador said in a text message.
Other routes get more frequencies
To lessen the blow of the reduced flights, all three carriers are increasing the frequencies of their other domestic routes.
Starting on April 20, PAL will deploy additional flights on routes between Manila and Cebu, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa and Bacolod.
By April 26 the legacy carrier will also increase flights between Cebu and Busuanga (Coron), Cebu and Siargao, as well as between Clark and Busuanga.
Starting on April 28, it will increase flights between Cebu and Clark, and by May 1, the carrier will add flights between Manila and Dumaguete, and Cagayan de Oro.
“As we redirect our passenger market flows to these other key PAL destinations, PAL anticipates that the additional flights will help increase demand and spur
economic activity for the benefit of the travel and tourism communities in various
regions of the country,” PAL President Jaime J. Bautista said.
Philippines AirAsia, according to Comendador, will also provide its passengers “flexible options so as not to disrupt their holiday plans.”
“We are adding several flights to Cebu, Davao, Palawan, Bohol, Iloilo and other leisure destinations for our guests to choose from,” he said.
Cebu Pacific Director Charo M. Lugarta said the company will also reallocate the planes used for Kalibo and Caticlan to other destinations.
“We will redeploy capacity to other routes. We will provide updates on the additional frequencies as soon as possible,” she said in a text message.
The carrier will redeploy its planes to Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi.
Promote other destinations in Northern Panay
Aside from promoting alternative destinations outside Boracay, San Miguel Corp. President Ramon S. Ang recommended the development of tourism in Caticlan and Nabas.
He explained that all concerned sectors, including the government, businesses, developers and its residents, “must also look beyond the island and move to disperse tourism to nearby municipalities, such as Caticlan and Nabas.”
This, he said, would result in higher tourism revenues for the whole of Aklan province, more jobs for locals and increased competitiveness of the Philippines as a
tourist destination.
More significantly, it will also allow for the decongestion of Boracay island, Ang added. San Miguel operates the Caticlan Airport.
Aside from this, Ang said the government must also develop a bridge that will link Caticlan and Boracay. This, he added, is a “novel approach” to solve Boracay’s environmental woes and bring about growth to other areas in Aklan
“Tourists and visitors will have the option to go to Boracay during the day and in the afternoon or at night for accommodations outside the island,” he said.
The accessibility of Boracay, through the proposed bridge, would enable developers to build hotels and resorts outside the island.
These can be premiere destinations in their own right, as these areas also boast of beautiful beaches and coastlines.
Some new establishments, on the other hand, can be positioned as alternative or more affordable accommodations for tourists. At the same time, accommodations for workers can also be built.
With this, thousands of tourism workers from neighboring provinces, would also no longer need to reside in Boracay and contribute to the growth in population and, as a result, waste.
“The development of neighboring areas would boost Aklan’s economy as a whole, while keeping island of Boracay sustainable for generations to come,” Ang explained.
The construction of a bridge could also solve the garbage and sewage problem on the island and can be used as a safe way to deliver sewage via pipes, which would be built into the bridge design, out of the Boracay, Ang said.
The closure of the island will also cost about 0.1 percent of the country’s GDP, according to the National Economic and Development Authority, displacing about 7,735 workers, who will then be assisted by the Department of Labor and Employment.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes