International travel to the Philippines is already back to around 70% of 2019 levels, while domestic travel is close to 100%, according to comments from Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla.
In a Friday briefing, Arcilla said the country’s airlines are well positioned to fulfil increasing demand after the government dropped most remaining COVID-19 restrictions earlier this year.
It was also a promising start given the absence of visitors from one of its main source markets, China, which contributed more than 1.7 million visitor arrivals in 2019. Only South Korea contributed more.
“There used to be more than 100 flights per week between the Philippines and China,” Arcilla said. “Now there are only six flights between the two countries.”
The Philippines remains ready for their return, however, with tourism numbers across the Philippines continuing to grow.
“If you’ve seen in the news, there was chaos in other countries due to canceled and delayed flights,” Arcilla added. “Some airports abroad were not prepared for the passenger influx. Some were not able to handle the passenger surge because they did not expect the rebound in travel. By God’s grace, our airlines are prepared.”
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