Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) yesterday entered into a partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to restore travel demand with the easing of border restrictions.
PAL signed a memorandum of understanding with STB to commence work on a joint campaign to promote travel between the Philippines and Singapore.
Stanley Ng, PAL president, said in a virtual press briefing PAL currently operates twice daily flights to Singapore and plans to return to its pre-pandemic level of four flights daily by the fourth quarter this year to address the anticipated surge in demand.
Ng added PAL is optimistic to operate 80 percent of its pre-pandemic capacity by the fourth quarter of the year.
Keith Tan, STB chief executive, said with the relaxation of the border policy and the start of the partnership with PAL, the number of visitors from the Philippines to Singapore are expected to increase sharply.
There were about 830,000 visitors from the Philippines to Singapore in 2019. This declined to 98,000 visitors in 2020 and dopped further to about 11,500 last year. However, the number reached 8,000 three months into the year.
“We’re quite confident of a reasonable recovery. We don’t expect to go back this year, the two to three years to go back to 2019, but we’re encouraged with the recovery,” Tan said.
Apart from this joint campaign, passengers of PAL will also be entitled to exclusive boarding pass privileges that provide special deals and promotions across a wide range of tourism establishments in Singapore, including Museum of Ice Cream, Mandai Wildlife Reserve, establishments on Sentosa and more.
Since April 1, 2022, vaccinated travelers to Singapore enjoy a streamlined travel process, requiring only proof of vaccination, a pre-departure coronavirus test and a simple SG Arrival Card. With a 92 percent vaccination rate in Singapore, travelers can visit Singapore with peace of mind. – Myla Iglesias
