CDC Chairman Eduardo Oban Jr. signs tarpaulin announcing AirAsia maiden flight to Puerto Princesa as AirAsia CEO Maan Hontiveros beams. Hontiveros turns over token AirAsia plane to Puerto Princesa Tourism Chief Rebecca Labit.
Photos courtesy of CDC-PRD
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY – Local officials welcomed budget airline Philippines’ AirAsia as it started its Clark-Puerto Princesa daily flights on Friday benefitting the booming tourism industry here.
Puerto Princesa’s city tourism officer Rebecca Labit, representative of Mayor Edward Hagedorn, hosted a dinner for AirAsia led by its chief executive officer, Marianne Hontiveros, shortly after Flight PQ7015 with 176 passengers landed at about 7 p.m. here.
Hagedorn was in Metro Manila to attend the official declaration of the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) as one of the seven wonders of nature.
Labit said there was a noticeable increase in the number of tourists to the city after the PPUR was nominated as one of the seven natural wonders of nature last year.
The former city councilor stressed that “this will increase further” with the entry of AirAsia as the carrier of 21st daily regular flight to the Puerto Princesa International Airport. She added that there were “only” 11 flights when 2011 ended.
For her part, Hontiveros said “Puerto Princesa is the gateway to Palawan’s wealth of wonders and diverse eco-tourism offerings. Its new found fame as one of the new seven wonders of nature has generated a lot of interest from both local and international tourists.
But beyond these must-see tourist spots and natural wonders, AirAsia brings awesome connectivity between these provinces and even beyond.” She joined Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) officials Bienvenido Manga and Reynaldo Catacutan in the dinner at the Asturias Hotel here.
Labit said that in January alone, this city recorded 60,000 tourist arrivals, representing 15% of the total tourist arrivals in the Philippines for the month.
At the current rate of the increase in tourists, Puerto Princesa is hoping to attract 1.2 million tourists by 2014, she added.
Labit said that “by 2025, we would achieve the 2.5 million mark in tourist arrivals.”
She disclosed that “the city in a forest” continued to grow in terms of development as there are 20 new hotels being constructed in the city.
This city used to have 40 plus accommodations, now we have a hundred accommodations, ranging from small pension houses, inns to hotels, Labit told reporters, including Pampanga-based journalists who joined the inaugural flight.
“Tourists from Central and Northern Luzon and those from Metro Manila who want to be spared from the traffic of Edsa and long queues of NAIA, now have easy access to Palawan. In the same way that Palawan has a new and better access to Luzon and other AirAsia destinations across Asia and Australia,” Hontiveros said.
AirAsia’s new service to Puerto Princesa from Clark will also provide the accessibility to visit Tubbataha Reef, Honda Bay and Palawan Wildlife Rescue, El Nido and Conservation Center.
Staying true to its commitment to transparency, efficiency, high value service and affordable fares, AirAsia’s red hot all-in promo of P799 for Puerto Princesa include base fare, fuel surcharge, processing fee and government mandated fees such as aviation security fee and VAT.
The promo started from 16 April – 22 April 2012, and guests will be able to travel from 23 April to 31 July 2013 with these all-in fares which are available online at www.airasia.com and also available via mobile at mobile.airasia.com as well as via AirAsia apps for Blackberry, iPhone and Android phones.
The apps are available for download at Blackberry App World, iTunes App Store and Android Marketplace by searching for the keyword AirAsia.
Philippines’ AirAsia call center also accepts booking via +632 588 9999 from Monday to Sunday at 0800hrs to 2100hrs (GMT +8) which includes a booking service fee of only P310.
AirAsia began serving the Filipino people last March 28 when it launched its daily flights from Clark to the popular tourism destinations of Kalibo (Boracay) in the Visayas and Davao in Mindanao.
