Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya – May 17, 2017 marks a significant milestone for the province of Nueva Vizcaya as the Bagabag Airport reopens after sixteen (16) years to boost the tourism industry of the Northern Philippines.

“This is a historic moment for Nueva Vizcaya. It has been a long wait, a long period of time to wait for the touchdown of flights. This is an overwhelming event for the province including the Cordilleras”, Governor Carlos M. Padilla quipped during his message.

Gov. Padilla welcomed the maiden flight of Dornier 328 aircraft, which brought in Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation (TRCRG), Alma Rita R. Jimenez and her entourage, together with Congresswoman Luisa Lloren Cauresma of the Lone District of Nueva Vizcaya.

The maiden flight, which took off from the Clark International Airport in Mabalacat City, Pampanga was made possible by Wakay Air Transport Service Chief Executive Officer Gerry Cabalce with partner company Platinum Skies Service Aviation, Inc., owned by former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson.

Department of Tourism-Cordillera Administrative Region (DOT-CAR) Dir. Venus Q. Tan was ecstatic about the reopening of the Bagabag Airport.

Dir. Tan said that this will jumpstart the aggressive tourism marketing programs to accelerate tourist traffic in Northern Philippines cluster which includes Regions 1, 2, 3 and CAR. The opening of Clark-Bagabag-Clark route, according to her, will not only benefit the key industry players of the provinces of Ifugao, Mountain Province and Nueva Vizcaya but will also include the adjacent province of Quirino.

USEC. Jimenez was inspired for being a part of the historical moment of Region 2, being a daughter of Cagayan. She thanked all the people behind the success of the activity and appreciated the result of their multi -sectoral cooperation that led to the resumption of flights at the Bagabag Airport.

“This is the essence of public and private sector partnership. As the public sector comes in to provide a conducive business environment, inventors take the risk of providing their investments because they see a future in the tourist destinations in our regions”, she added.

She assured that indeed, tourists and visitors will have a great time visiting the Northern Philippines cluster to see and experience the beauty of their destinations.

Jimenez ended by saying “that tourism is the third largest economic contributor to our country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), providing more than 5 million jobs, let us keep it going”.

DOT Region 2 Dir. Virgilio M. Maguigad said that the reopening of Bagabag Airport further improves the connectivity of the Cagayan Valley Region to the rest of the country. Dir. Maguigad explained that the opening of Bagabag Airport brings to a total of six airports in the region offering commercial, chartered or air taxi flight operations which includes Basco in Batanes, Tuguegarao in Cagayan and Cauayan, Maconacon, Palanan Airports in Isabela.