China travel warning hurts PH budget carriers

Mick Basa

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China travel warning hurts PH budget carriers
Budget carriers are hoping that the Philippines can convince China that their citizens are safe in the country, amid threats reportedly posed by an anti-China group

MANILA, Philippines – Some low-cost carriers in the Philippines are now bearing the brunt of China’s travel advisory against the country, and hoped it would be lifted soon.

AirAsia Zest chairman Marianne Hontiveros expressed hope that China would consider lifting the warning, as some of their flights have been indefinitely suspended following the advisory.

“It’s hurting [us] very much. But we’re hoping it can be resolved,” Hontiveros said in an interview at the sidelines of the National ASEAN Single Aviation Market Conference on Wednesday, September 17.

Beginning Thursday, September 18, AirAsia will suspend its Kalibo-Beijing and Kalibo-Shanghai services “until further notice.”

Cebu Pacific and Tigerair have cancelled 149 chartered flights to and from mainland China. According to Juan Lorenzo Tañada, Cebu Pacific corporate affairs vice president, the flights were scheduled between September and December 2014.

“We regret that there is an existing travel advisory issued by the People’s Republic of China to the Philippines and hope that it will be lifted at the soonest possible time,” Tañada said.

Cebu Pacific and Tigerair, which have a code share agreement, continue to operate regular services to and from China.

China has advised its citizens to avoid the Philippines, citing a foiled bomb plot at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on September 1, and an alleged attempt to strafe the Chinese embassy in Manila – supposedly by an anti-China group – that same day.

“Given the worsened security situation in the Philippines, the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges Chinese citizens not to travel to the Philippines for the time being,” the advisory said.

The warning means Chinese tour operators are obliged to suspend offering travel services to the Philippines, even though individual passengers “would still want to go to the Philippines,” Hontiveros said.

“Of course they will follow the advise of their government. You can’t blame them. So the cancellations will come from the tour groups. That’s going to hurt us,” she said.

Hontiveros said that the Philippines has to convince China  that its citizens would be safe in the country, amid such reported threat.

“I think the Chinese (government) needs assurance that their nationals are safe in the Philippines, which we know they are. But that message needs to get across,” she said.

For the meantime, Hontiveros said she is hoping that China would lift its advisory in time for the main activities of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) which China is hosting this year.

The APEC Leaders Summit is scheduled in early November.

“The Chinese are really very gracious hosts that we hope that by then especially if there’s a face-to-face meeting between our leaders and our president that the assurance of the safety of the Chinese (citizens) will be accepted,” Hontiveros said.

Chinese tourists accounted for 6.21% of the country’s 3.9 million tourists in 2012. In 2013, they ranked as the 4th largest tourism market of the Philippines Rappler.com

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