Direct flights from Kaoshiung, Taiwan to this city will resume starting August 2.Milagros Gonzales, Department of Tourism provincial chief, said Far Eastern Lines will carry at least 90 passengers, mostly travel agents and operators, including Taiwan media, in its maiden charter flight from Kaohsiung.The Taiwan group will be on a five-day exploration tour in Ilocos Norte. They will later sell our destination areas when they go back to their country,” she said.Gonzales said regular flights will follow the maiden flight for the whole of August and will continue in the next following months depending on the passengers’ reception of the new air route.The DOT has started promoting the new flights to Filipino workers and residents in Taiwan.

The flights will be beneficial to Filipinos who wish to visit their relatives in the Philippines, considering it’s just a 45-minute flight from Kaohsiung to Laoag,” Gonzales said.The last time the Taiwan nationals flew to this city was two years ago following the cancellation of Taiwan and Hongkong flights as a result of the Manila hostage crisis in August, 2010.Meanwhile, Gonzales said Chinese media began its five-day familiarization tour of Ilocos Norte, yesterday, July 27, as part of DOT’s Shanghai Office tourism campaign.The media group was among the passengers of the Shanghai-Manila inaugural flight, on board Zest Air on July 25. The airline will be flying five times weekly from Shanghai to the Philippines.Gonzales said the new flights would bring in more Chinese tourists and businessmen to the country and strengthen relations between China and the Philippines.