The country's players in the aviation industry vowed to be one of the industries that will push sustainability in the country's tourism sites, particularly in the Philippine gem, Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan.

During the Boracay Business Forum on Friday, presented by the Global Tourism Business Association and One Klik Events Management, which was graced by various dignitaries from Southeast and other regions in Asia, Ricardo Isla, the chief executive officer of AirAsia Philippines, said his airline is now one of the leading proponents for sustainability in Asia.

"We expect that in the next five to seven years, we will be ready to use sustainable aviation fuel that will significantly reduce emissions. To date, we are currently doing what we call an engine taxi practice that will not only save the consumption of fuel but also its carbon emissions," he said.

Isla said that in doing so, AirAsia has already reduced about 130,000 tons of emitted carbon dioxide.

He said sustainability is very important, especially in island tourist destinations like Boracay.

"Make Boracay green and the perfect ecotourism. It's beyond the white sand, as everybody knows that Boracay has one of the best white sands in the world," he said.

Air Asia is the official carrier of the ambassadors who joined the Boracay Business Forum in Boracay from 18 to 20 April.

Surge in Boracay flights

Isla, in an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, said they continuously saw improvement regarding the frequency of its Boracay flights.

"We have flown 250,000 passengers already in this first quarter of 2024 and the number is continuously rising. Number two, we are strongly supporting the advocacy of sustainability and the greening and preservation of the pristine Boracay beaches and other destinations in Malay, which is very important to us," he said.

AirAsia flies 14 times, round trips, a day to Boracay from Manila, Clark, and Cebu airports, bringing in more tourists to the country's premiere destination.

Assessing market situation

Meanwhile, Paula Marie Chiong Navarro, the country manager of United Airlines Philippines, said they are currently assessing the market situation in Aklan so that they can arrange direct flights to Kalibo Airport.

"The Philippines for United Airlines is a very important market. In quarter four of 2023, we launched our first direct non-stop flight from San Francisco to Manila, the first US carrier to operate a Trans-Pacific, non-stop flight between the US and the Philippines," she said.

She said after opening San Francisco to Manila, United Airlines will also open direct flights from San Francisco to Cebu happening in October this year.

Navarro added that they wanted to continue bringing American tourists to the Philippines, especially to Boracay, which is why she extolled the domestic players Air Asia, Cebu Pacific, and Philippine Airlines for sustaining the connectivity towards the country's premiere tourist destinations.

A total of 630,648 foreign and domestic tourists visited Malay, including those who visited Boracay, based on the records of the Malay Tourism Office as of 15 April 2024, which was presented by Mayor Frolibar Bautista during the event.

Of the said numbers, more than 162,000 are foreign tourists; 459,000 are domestic, and more than 8,000 plus are overseas Filipino workers.

The top foreign markets for Malay are Koreans, Chinese, Americans, Taiwanese, Australians, Russians, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Canada.