Local airlines to transport tourists to Bohol soon

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LOCAL airlines will soon start operating flights between Manila and Bohol, as the island-province reopens its doors to tourists beginning Nov. 15.

“Our Manila-Tagbilaran-Manila service will resume on Nov. 22,  twice weekly. That is the plan,” Philippine Airlines Spokesperson Cielo C. Villaluna told BusinessWorld in a phone message on Wednesday.

In a statement, Philippines AirAsia said it would resume flights each way from Manila to Bohol beginning Dec. 1.

“AirAsia is offering 50% off on all flights from Manila to Bohol for this week only… for travels between 1 December and 30 October 2021,” it added.

Philippines AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Ricardo P. Isla said, “We hope that the resumption of connectivity between both regions will further assist local businesses and enterprises in Bohol.”

“AirAsia will continue to support the national and local governments in their efforts to  jumpstart the travel and tourism industries in the Philippines,” he added.

Candice A. Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice-president for marketing and customer experience, said in a separate phone message that the budget carrier currently operates flights between Manila and Bohol for locally stranded individuals, returning overseas Filipino workers, and authorized persons outside residence.

“We are more than happy with Bohol reopening for tourists and we look forward to other domestic destinations following suit. We intend to keep operating flights from Manila to Bohol and vice versa thrice weekly (every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), and hope to increase to daily operations by December,” Ms. Iyog said.

Ms. Iyog reminded tourists to secure a negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab test result taken within 72 hours before flight departure, as well as a confirmed booking at a hotel accredited by the Department of Tourism or the provincial government of Bohol.

“They will also need to register through the Bohol Tourist Registration portal via https://tourism.bohol.gov.ph/ and save a digital or printed copy of the QR code, which will be scanned upon entry and exit of establishments and sites,” she added. — Arjay L. Balinbin