ILOILO CITY - Tourism in Western Visayas, especially in Boracay, will get an additional boost with the opening of its first international flight to the Kalibo airport on March 16.

The airport will receive its first international flight from Incheon in South Korea, Allan Java, Air Transportation Office manager in Western Visayas, said.

The chartered flight of Pacific Pearl Airways will carry tourists bound for Boracay Island, an hour's ride from the capital town of Kalibo.

Aklan Rep. Florencio Miraflores said the Asian Spirit airline is also scheduled to inaugurate its first flight from Incheon to Kalibo on March 24. The airline will provide three flights weekly for the route. Tourism regional director Edwin Trompeta said the international flights will hasten the development of tourism, not only in Boracay, but the whole Western Visayas.

He said the flights will provide more convenience to South Korean tourists who are now the top tourists in country, reaching half a million last year.

Korean tourists are also the top foreign visitors in Boracay. The island had more than 500,000 visitors last year and earned more than P8 billion.

Trompeta said the opening of direct flights between will put the travel time between South Korean and Boracay within international standards.

"The flights will do away with connecting flights from Manila or Cebu and will lengthen the stay of the tourists in Boracay," Trompeta said in a telephone interview.

Miraflores said the direct flights were sought by Korean tour operators.

He said the Kalibo airport is now capable of accepting international flights after the improvements on its navigational system and other facilities that were funded by a P50 million budget released last year.

Java said the opening of international flights in Kalibo will also help ease the traffic in the Caticlan airport, the jump-off point to Boracay.

The Caticlan airport has 56 incoming and outgoing flights daily and is only capable of servicing small planes.*NPB

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