CONNECTIVITY. The inaugural flight of Air Asia's Clark-Tacloban-Clark route in this Feb. 2, 2018 photo. There are proposals to re-open the air route that was stopped three years ago by pandemic restrictions. (PNA photo courtesy of Department of Tourism Region 8)
TACLOBAN CITY – Eastern Visayas will be more accessible from Northern Luzon with the proposed re-opening of Clark-Tacloban-Clark flights that stopped three years ago due to pandemic restrictions.
In a media interview Tuesday, Department of Tourism (DOT) regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes said the Regional Development Council (RDC) has approved and endorsed on Sept. 26 the resolution urging airline firms to re-open the air route.
“Our markets in the region are tourists from the National Capital Region and Luzon, and the only link to these areas is through the airport in Manila.
"Through this alternative air route, we are giving people from northern Luzon a chance to come and visit the region,” Tiopes said.
“It will be more convenient for visitors to come. It opens both doors. There are opportunities for them, and there are opportunities for us,” she added.
On Feb. 2, 2018, AirAsia launched the four-times-a-week Tacloban-Clark flight, giving tourists in Northern Philippines the chance to fly straight to Tacloban and visit the region’s key destinations.
Eastern Visayas region consists of the provinces of Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, and Southern Leyte and the cities of Baybay, Borongan, Calbayog, Catbalogan, Maasin, Ormoc, and Tacloban, the regional center.
Among its popular destinations are Kalanggaman Island, San Juanico Bridge, Leyte Landing Memorial in Leyte; Sambawan Island in Biliran; diving sites in Southern Leyte; Calicoan Island in Eastern Samar; Sohoton Cave and Natural Park in Samar and Biri Rock Formations in Northern Samar.
The region remains relatively under the radar compared to other tourist destinations in the Philippines, but this has been slowly changing in the past years as demand for raw nature tourism grows, Tiopes said.
More people visit the region because of its rugged coasts and landscapes, secret caves and waterfalls, and fascinating histories. (PNA)
