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Hanatour eyes Koren golfers via Subic Airport


SUBIC FREE PORT — South Korean tour operator Hanatour, through local partner Hanafil Golf and Tour, Inc., plans to revive the operations of the Subic Bay International Airport by bringing in more foreign golfers. Airport operations were halted after Federal Express (FedEx) left the free port and airlines shifted to the booming Diosdado Macapagal International Airport at the Clark free port in Pampanga. “We are planning to use the [Subic Bay International Airport] and a partner airline company with low-cost fares to bring in more golfers from other countries," Hanafil President and Chief Executive Benjamin John Defensor III said. Defensor said the company would resume junket flights once the Subic golf course, which is undergoing rehabilitation, is reopened. The company has completed 40 percent of the reconstruction process, which is part of the $48 million it had committed to invest in the project. Defensor said the company would also bank on the deal among the Bureau of Immigration, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and Clark Development Corp. (CDC) for the visa-free entry of foreigners visiting the Subic and Clark free port zones. The agreement allows foreigners to stay in both free port zones without a visa for 14 days. But the privilege will only be extended to foreigner arriving in the country through the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport and Subic Bay International Airport. Defensor said the golf course, the former Subic Bay Golf and Country Club, was designed to handle 180 golfers a day, and that number would expand once nine more holes are added in the next phase of the development. “That includes the reshaping of the greens and fairways of the first nine holes to make it flow better," he added. The company has spent almost $5 million or P230 million in designing the houses and villas that will be built inside the golf course. Last year, Hanafil launched its golf tour vacation package, which attracted more than 170 Korean golfers and tourists via Jeju Airline’s “junket flight" from South Korea. The company is eyeing more flights to Subic, which has become a favorite destination of Korean tourists. “With the success of our initial junket flight, we will be establishing more and more flights. The increase in the number of tourists in Subic last year can also be attributed to the influx of visiting Koreans," Defensor said. “We have earned at least P7.2 million for our initial junket flights. We believe we could hit more revenues with this kind of tour package that promotes sports tourism in our country," he added. — Rey Garcia, BusinessWorld
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