Budget carrier Cebu Pacific is planning to launch a charter flight from Incheon, South Korea to Davao City.The airline’s general sales agent in South Korea, Global Vision Ways, together with Hana Tour, Mode Tour, Hotel and Air, No. 1 Tour and NJK were in the city last week to look into the region’s marketability.
Sunho “David” Lee, sales manager of Global Vision Ways, told the reporters in an interview last Friday at Jack’s Ridge Resort and Restaurant that they needed to review if Davao can be sold to the Korean market before pushing for a direct flight.
“It is very risky to launch a direct flight if there is no high demand,” he said.
Should Davao gain a positive review from the tourism industry players, he said the plan might push through during winter time next year. He said the winter period, December to February, is the time when most of the Koreans travel outside their country.
The industry players are looking at Davao and Bohol as the new tourist destinations that they could offer to the Korean market aside from Manila, Cebu and Boracay.
“The Koreans love to go in places where there are beaches, golf course and English-speaking people,” he said.
The market, he said, also like to stay in “neat and nice” resorts.
Last week, the tour operators with Cebu Pacific’s general sales agent checked on the tour packages and went in tourist attractions like Pearl Farm Resort, Monfort Bat Cave, Davao Crocodile Park and Jack’s Ridge Resort and Restaurant.
He said the tour operators would like to have a direct flight to Davao for them to easily promote the tourist destination. They will submit in less than a month the review to their respective companies which would detail what they have experienced and prove if there is marketability.
Last year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) registered about 8,000 Korean tourists who traveled in the region, a record which is less than seven percent of the 1 million Korean tourists who visited the country.
Koreans are the third biggest number of foreign visitors in the region next to Japanese and Americans.
Arturo Boncato Jr., regional director of DOT XI, said earlier that the airline companies like Busan Air, Jin Air, Jeju Air and local carrier Philippine Airlines are also planning to service a direct flight from South Korea.
“We look forward to that happening hopefully within this year so that we’ll become the next destination of the Korean market in the Philippines,” he said during the launching of the Davao Korean Association Information Desk at Davao International Airport last month.
He said this “positive feedback” arose after the department continued to push for the direct flight specifically from Incheon, South Korea to Davao City through the department’s Route Development Division from its central office.
The department, he said, have been doing a series of presentations and invitations to the airline companies. One of these was the conduct of a meeting with the Korean Travel Agency Association based in Cebu.
On June 1-2, the DOT met with the airline companies to pursue the plan to have a direct flight from Korea to Davao.