DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines —Tour operators are now mulling the possibility of a direct charter flight between Dumaguete City and Shanghai in China, according to Negros Oriental Provincial Tourism Officer Myla Mae Abellana Bromo.
This is because Chinese tourist arrivals in Dumaguete City, the capital of Negros Oriental, continues to rise to as many as 400 to 600 a week, she said.
Bromo said tour operators from China came here last month as they wanted to check the facilities at the Dumaguete airport for a possible opening of a direct charter flight from here to Shanghai and vice versa.
“We do not know their assessment as we only assisted them,” Bromo however said. She said there are two Chinese tour operators based in Dumaguete and they are bringing in at least 400 Chinese tourists every week.
“These Chinese tourists love the beach, the food and the freedom when in Dumaguete and nearby areas,” she said. They also feel free and safe to roam around Dumaguete and they love the food as well, she added.
Topping the list for their tour destinations are the world-renowned dive destination Apo Island in Dauin town of Negros Oriental, the whale-shark encounters at Oslob, Cebu (just across the Tañon Strait from here), and the dolphin and whale watching tours and the white sand bar in Bais City and Manjuyod town, Bromo said.
For many years until 2015, tourists from the United States of America topped the list of foreigners coming to Dumaguete and Negros Oriental.
Today, China ranks first, followed by USA and then Korean nationals. The provincial tourism office, however, is still collating data on tourist arrivals for the month of October 2016. (FREEMAN)