The Philippines has the potential to attract 9 million tourists annually, according to Tony Fernandes, chief executive officer of Capital A Berhad.
Capital A is the parent firm of Air Asia Philippines.
According to Fernandes, 9 million is attainable if the government and the private sector will support the opening of more destinations with airport and other vital infrastructure.
The Philippines attracted 2.6 million tourists in 2022, still far from the pre-pandemic level of 8.3 million in 2019.
Fernandes expressed optimism about the expansion of connectivity in the country with the continued rise of tourism.
“We are so bullish because the Philippines is probably one of the best-kept secrets, it’s such a beautiful country. We do believe that we can increase regional connectivity across AirAsia’s Filipino hubs and really bring Asean into the Philippines. At Capital A, we plan to fast-track our investments in the Philippines and we’re finally going to make that secret come true,” Fernandes said in a statement.
Connectivity has consistently played a crucial role in the Philippines, serving not only domestic needs but also facilitating regional travel.
According to Fernandes, there are plans to enhance connectivity to attract a larger number of tourists to destinations such as Cebu, Bacolod and Palawan.
“We’re seeing a huge pent-up demand for travel, which gives me a huge amount of confidence. I think our strength is that we are also very strong in secondary and tertiary cities and in providing connectivity. So that is adding growth,” Fernandes added.
