By May Anne Love Deseo, Davao Today intern
DAVAO CITY — Airline company Cebu Pacific will launch its newest Davao-Singapore route on December 17 after a meeting with 55 Singaporean tour operators, the Department of Tourism (DOT), City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) as well as other counterparts.
CTOO Officer-in-charge Lisette Marques said that their delegation went to Singapore on November 23-25 to promote the Davao-Singapore direct flight route via Cebu Pacific.
“One of the key people that were on our group are members from the Department of Tourism specifically on the route development department of the DOT,” said Marques.
Marques said the Singaporeans are in the top 10 rank of tourists who visit Davao City.
However, she added they have “went down a notch” because of the top six tourists: Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Americans, Australians, and Indians.
“We would like to see the Singaporean market increase and with the activities that they are looking for here, we are looking at more natural and raw experiences for them,” she said.
She added that the DOT development department are the ones who study what other routes can be made available directly from Davao.
“We met in Singapore and we were able to ask the necessary and important questions why we still don’t have other routes and how long it is going to take,” she said.
Marques said DOT responding saying the problem was mostly technical including equipment and aircraft used.
“Hindi lang Singaporeans and tina-target namin (We are not only targeting the Singaporeans),” she said.
Marques said Singapore is a hub for international or even longer long-haul flights.
Although in a meeting with Singaporean tour operators, Marques said they were able to to give the CTOO insights on what Singaporeans like to do or like to see in terms of attractions in the city.
Aside from tour operators, she said property representatives attended as well including those from Marco Polo Hotel, Park Inn Hotel, and Pearl Farm Beach Resort to discuss expectations in terms of accommodation and services.
“For the longest time since we had the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area) conferences, there have been discounts to really entice to come and to plot Davao as one of their routes in this region,” Marques said.
She added that she hopes more routes will be feasible in terms of aircraft.(davaotoday.com)
