Filipino expats in the UAE and the Middle East were among those who participated in the #CEBFlyMeTo, an online campaign by the Philippines’ largest carrier, Cebu Pacific (CEB), to begin flights to destinations where commercial flights are very limited to non-existent.
The breakthrough #CEBFlyMeTo campaign utilized crowdsourcing to find out from netizens which destinations in the Philippines they would want Cebu Pacific to fly next. #CEBFlyMeTo also aimed to bring communities together to voice out their thoughts and push for their hometowns to become one of CEB’s destinations.
Many netizens from the UAE, home to more than 900,000 Filipinos, joined the online conversation via posting comments using the hashtag #CEBFlyMeTo. Since the campaign was launched in late-2017, over two million netizens watched, shared, reacted, and commented with their #CEBFlyMeTo votes.
Candice Iyog, Vice President for Marketing and Distribution of Cebu Pacific explained that aside from the campaign being the very first travel demand campaign done by a Philippine carrier, it is also the first time that public opinion is being taken into account in the decision of which routes to consider mounting.
“We want to engage with Filipino travelers and give them the opportunity to be part of our planning process as we continue to connect the Philippine islands and offer the lowest fares. We are now in the process of reviewing the operational viability of flying to these destinations.” added Ms Iyog.
Based on comments on the CEB social media pages, netizens’ top ten picks are: Daet (Camarines Norte), Mati (Davao Oriental), Bantayan Island (Cebu), San Vicente (Palawan), Siquijor, Lal-Lo (Cagayan), Marinduque, Maasin (Southern Leyte), Basco (Batanes), and Bislig (Surigao Del Sur). CEB announced the top ten most-requested destinations via its official Facebook page last Thursday (http://bit.ly/2nwqBr7).
The top ten destinations are currently being checked for feasibility of mounting commercial flights. Prior to launching a route, CEB, which flies to over 37 domestic and 25 international destinations, takes into account airport readiness, safety and security, facilities for passengers and runway specifications.
CEB has many firsts to its credit when it comes to flying to new destinations. Among the Philippine route operations that the carrier has pioneered are Siargao, Camiguin and Virac—all of which are now up-and-coming tourist destinations.
The #CEBFlyMeTo campaign was inspired by an online petition spearheaded by residents and the local government of Masbate to mount commercial flights to the island-province in 2016. After feasibility and technical checks, Cebu Pacific launched commercial flights between Manila and Masbate in February 2017.
Today, Cebu Pacific has 18 flights weekly between Manila and Masbate. The online campaign has allowed Masbateños to contribute to the economic growth of the province by helping open doors of opportunities for business and tourism.
TFT, Cebu Pacific flies 7 times a week to Masbate from Manila. So how come that 5J flies this destination up to 18 flights a week. Before you post something tried to check first.