MANILA, Philippines - Budget airline Cebu Air Inc., the operator of the Cebu Pacific brand, said it sees sustained growth in the movement of tourists between the Philippines and Japan following the introduction of trademark low fares in the route.
Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said the low-cost carrier noted a strong growth in the number of Filipinos visiting Japan a month after the airline launched direct daily services to Narita and four weekly flights to Nagoya.
“With Cebu Pacific’s new Japan destinations and trademark low fares, those who have always been interested in traveling to Japan now find themselves able to do so,” she noted.
Figures from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) showed that the Philippines is one of its fastest growing source of foreign visitor arrivals.
Philippine visitor arrivals to Japan grew 129.5 percent in April compared to March. For the month of April, visitors from the Philippines grew the most, topping even China.
In May, Philippine visitor arrivals grew 71.5 percent, second ranked when it comes to the fastest growth. Japan seeks to achieve its goal of increasing the number of foreign visitors to 20 million, in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“This amazing growth in Filipino tourist arrivals to Japan is what we call the Cebu Pacific effect. We hope we can continue stimulating traffic not just to Japan, but to the Philippines as well,” Iyog added.
The airline flew over 45,800 passengers to and from Japan for the months of April and May, considered the Philippines’ summer and Japan’s spring months.
This translated to a growth of over 480 percent compared to the same period last year.
Aside from Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, Cebu Pacific offers flights to 23 other international destinations, namely Bali, Bangkok, Beijing, Brunei, Busan, Dubai, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Incheon (Seoul), Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Macau, Phuket, Shanghai, Siem Reap, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei and Xiamen.
It also operates the most extensive network in the Philippines with destinations such as Boracay, Palawan and Coron.