Cebu will soon reopen to international flights ferrying foreign tourists.

The provincial government and city government of Lapu-Lapu, where the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is located, have agreed to reopen the country’s second busiest air hub to international arrivals.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan met with Governor Gwen Garcia on Monday to get her support on his plan to reopen the MCIA to international flights, to which the governor agreed.

“We’ll send word to the entire world that we’re open for business,” Garcia said during the meeting.

Garcia pushed for the reopening of tourism activities in the province to allow the economy to recover from the crippling effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Garcia and Chan have agreed to lay down uniform guidelines on this plan, which
also gained the support of Tourism Regional Director Shalimar Tamano.

The governor also pushed for the reopening of the province’s borders for tourists from neighboring provinces in Central Visayas.

Garcia, in her capacity as the governor, sits as a member of the board of directors for the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), the state-run body co-managing the airport.

Cebu province has been placed under modified general community quarantine, the most relaxed form of mass quarantine since July wherein tourism businesses were allowed to resume. (PNA)