KALIBO, Aklan — Two low-cost South Korean airlines will regularly fly Korean tourists directly from the Incheon and Seoul International Airports in South Korea to the Kalibo International Airport here starting immediately.
Western Visayas Tourism Regional Director Cristine Mansinares said the two airlines — Air Seoul and TWay Air — will regularly ferry South Korean tourists either from Incheon or Seoul.
Air Seoul, a subsidiary of Asiana Airlines, delivers its first cargo of some 170 tourists to the Kalibo international Airport in Aklan today, Saturday, while TWay Air will start flying in on June 22.
Mansinares said the direct flight of the two airlines from South Korea to Aklan will definitely have an impact on tourism in Kalibo and Boracay.
She said the regular flights will help boost foreign arrivals in the third and fourth quarters of this year. Records of the Malay-Boracay Tourism office show that over 4,000 foreign tourists have visited Boracay monthly since April but they needed to pass by Cebu, Manila, or Clark and travel via domestic flights to Kalibo or Caticlan.
South Korea is among Boracay’s top four foreign tourism markets. Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores said tourist arrivals in Boracay is already nearing pre-pandemic level, even as many of the visitors are domestic tourists.
Miraflores said said there’s a need to have a study on the new carrying capacity of Boracay so appropriate measures can be undertaken to ensure its viability.