New Bohol airport to bring down air fare costs

MANILA, Philippines – Visiting Bohol will be more affordable and further boost the tourism industry of the province with the new Bohol-Panglao International Airport (BPIA) in operation.

Bohol Tourism Office head Josephine Cabarrus, in a statement said that the short runway at the old airport in Tagbilaran City was a factor in the high cost of air fare that affected the growth of the local tourism industry.

“For the longest time, we have been at the mercy of very expensive airfares,” she said.

Cabarrus said that a one-way trip between Manila and Bohol ranges from P8,000 to P10,000, which, she noted, is “almost the same fare [rate] to Hong Kong.”

“We’re hoping that with the operation of the new airport, the fares could be lower due to supply and demand,” she added.

GREEN GATEWAY The Bohol Panglao International Airport
is considered the Philippines’ “Green Gateway to the World.” —EDCOM/DOTR

The BPIA, which opened in November last year, is ten times bigger than the old airport, boasting of a 2,500-meter runway a passenger terminal that can handle about two million passengers annually.

“We’re looking at Bohol-Panglao airport to be a game changer for the economy not only of Panglao, but of the whole province,” Cabarrus added.

According to airport consultant ICF, tourism in Bohol has grown at an annual rate of 25.2 percent from 2011 to 2017, and by 30 percent from 2016 to 2017.

Panglao is the most popular tourist destination in Bohol which welcomed 704,000 tourists in 2017.

With the new airport, more foreign and local tourists are expected to visit the province and generate more job and livelihood opportunities./gsg