MANILA, Philippines — It’s a good time to travel nowadays as air fares have been slashed by as much as 50 percent while room rates are down by 10 percent.

Philippine Travel Agents Association (PTAA) vice president John Paul Cabalza said air fares have gone down by more than 50 percent to encourage more people to take a trip.

“There are some airlines that offer airfares for as low as P1,500 roundtrip for Palawan or Boracay,” he said.

Room rates have also gone down by 10 percent, still in an attempt to prop up domestic tourism to offset the slack in international tourism.

Because of the slowdown in the global economy, the government said tourism will have a negative growth or a flat growth at best.

“Maybe we can experience a little growth if the domestic tourism picks up. We see this happening. I think this is the trend,” Cabalza said over the weekend at the sidelines of the three-day travel expo at the SMX Convention Center.

“Instead of traveling overseas, people opt to go to local destinations and the cheap fares encourage people to travel. Who can resist a bargain,” he said.

With the air fare and room rate cuts, domestic tourism is expected to increase by 15 percent.

The anticipated increase will come from travels of associations like the Philippine Medical Association, the government sector and various schools, Cabalza said.

He said the months of November until May are considered the peak seasons of travel.

Source: www.philstar.com News Featured