The Department of Tourism (DoT), in partnership with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), has launched the Discover the Visayas, #FlyViaCebu campaign to encourage travelers to explore the central Philippines.

Under a memorandum of understanding, the DoT, PCCI — acting through the Visayas Island-Chambers Tourism Alliance — and MCIA will work together to promote the region, beginning with six destinations: Lapu-Lapu, Panglao, Boracay, Siquijor, Guimaras, and Biliran. The initiative also aims to establish Cebu as a gateway for multi-island travel. In an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, flights are often the practical way to combine several destinations in a single itinerary, which is the gap a hub-and-spoke gateway model is intended to address.

The Visayas is one of the three principal island groups of the Philippines, alongside Luzon and Mindanao, and is known for its beach and island destinations. Boracay is internationally recognized for its White Beach, while Panglao in Bohol province, Siquijor, Guimaras, and Biliran attract visitors with dive sites and island-hopping routes. Lapu-Lapu, where MCIA is situated on Mactan Island, is a historic city named after the chieftain who led resistance against Ferdinand Magellan's expedition in 1521. Cebu's position near the geographic center of the archipelago underpins its suitability as the connecting point for the three island groups.

For travelers continuing their journeys by air, MCIA's transfer application, CEB Connects, is designed to make connections to and from the airport's 28 domestic and 13 international destinations more convenient.

Passengers can book domestic-to-domestic connections with a minimum connection time of 35 minutes. Domestic-to-international and international-to-domestic connections require a minimum connection time of 60 minutes. Baggage is automatically transferred to the connecting flight, so passengers on connecting itineraries do not need to collect and re-check their luggage between legs — a detail that directly affects the feasibility of short multi-island trips.

MCIA is one of the busiest airports in the Philippines and serves as the main air gateway to the Visayas region, a role that places the airport at the center of the campaign's multi-destination concept. Tourism is a significant contributor to the Philippine economy, giving coordinated public-private promotion of this kind relevance well beyond Cebu itself. The announcement did not specify a campaign duration or when destinations beyond the initial six might be added, leaving those details to watch as the partnership develops.

Source: BusinessWorld Online. Reporting credit: CAT.