14 June 2016 – Philippine Embassy officials in Beijing joined Philippine Airlines at an event marking the increase in its Beijing-Manila-Beijing flights on June 08.

In her remarks, Minister and Consul General Elizabeth T. Te of the Philippine Embassy welcomed the increase in the frequency of flights from Philippine Airlines. She noted that being the Philippines’ flag carrier, PAL could now effectively promote the Philippines’ various tourist destinations in China through the increase in its flight frequency.

She pointed out that China continues to be the third largest source of visitor arrivals, next only to the Republic of Korea and the United States of America.

She said that the Philippines values the recent growth in visitor arrivals from China, and noted that in 2015, the tourism sector contributed a sizable 10.6% to the Gross Domestic Product of the Philippines.

She further underscored that more Chinese tourists translate to more jobs for the Filipino people, and in the longer term, could contribute to greater understanding among Filipinos and the Chinese.

According to Mr. Russell Jao, PAL’s Regional Manager for Greater China, the increase in its Manila-Beijing-Manila flights from six times to eight times weekly, is in line with the Department of Tourism’s “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” and “Visit Philippines Again” campaigns.

PAL further plans to open regular flights to Kalibo and to Cebu, and to increase to three times a week its chartered flights to Kalibo in Aklan. The airline also plans to establish chartered flights between the Philippines and other Chinese cities such as Hangzhou, Wuhan and Changsha.

During the event, PAL introduced its new domestic “Heart of the Filipino” and international TV commercials and presented a host of PAL products to an audience of Chinese travel agents, cargo handlers, and Chinese media outlets. PAL Vice-President for Ancillary Business Kevin Hartigan-Go further introduced PAL’s Mabuhay Miles Million Miler Card; the PAL Travel Card, which is reloadable with 10 currencies; and the latest features of some of the aircraft in its fleet, the Airbus A320 and Bombardier Q400/Q300. END