MANILA — China and the Philippines are set to expand bilateral air connectivity with the launch of the first direct flights between Fujian province and Cebu next month, a move aimed at strengthening tourism recovery and leveraging centuries-old diaspora ties between southern China and the central Philippines.
Xiamen Airlines will begin operating the Quanzhou–Cebu service on March 29, according to Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, who announced the route during ceremonies marking the Chinatown Revitalization project in Manila attended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos.
The airline will initially operate two weekly flights — scheduled for Tuesdays and Saturdays — linking Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport in Fujian with Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the country’s second-busiest gateway. Officials indicated frequency could increase depending on passenger demand and market response.
Diaspora and business links
The choice of Quanzhou as the Chinese origin point carries particular historical and economic significance. Fujian province is widely regarded as the ancestral homeland of the majority of the Filipino-Chinese population, with migration from southern Chinese ports to the Philippines dating back more than a millennium.
Business leaders and community groups in Cebu — home to one of the country’s largest ethnic Chinese populations outside Manila — have long advocated for a direct connection to Fujian to facilitate ancestral travel, family exchanges and trade links. Until now, passengers traveling between Cebu and southern China typically relied on connecting flights via Manila, Hong Kong or other regional hubs.
Tourism and aviation analysts say the new route directly targets a niche but high-value segment of travelers combining leisure, heritage and commerce.
“The Fujian–Cebu corridor has always existed culturally and commercially,” said a regional aviation consultant based in Southeast Asia. “Direct air service reduces friction in travel planning and can stimulate both diaspora tourism and small-scale business mobility.”
Tourism recovery priority
The route launch comes as Manila accelerates efforts to restore Chinese visitor arrivals, once among the fastest-growing segments of Philippine tourism before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted regional travel.
China ranked as the Philippines’ sixth-largest source of international visitors in 2025, according to tourism data, but arrivals remain significantly below pre-pandemic levels when mainland Chinese tourists accounted for more than 1.7 million visitors annually.
Philippine tourism authorities have identified the Chinese market as a priority for recovery due to its high spending potential and group travel patterns that benefit hotels, resorts and retail sectors.
In January, the Philippine government introduced a limited visa-free entry policy allowing 14-day stays for accredited Chinese tour groups entering through major gateways including Manila and Cebu. Officials said the policy is designed to simplify entry procedures while maintaining immigration safeguards.
The Department of Tourism has also stepped up promotional campaigns in Chinese cities with established Philippine diaspora links, highlighting beach destinations in Cebu, Bohol and Palawan as well as cultural heritage tourism.
Strategic aviation expansion
Beyond the new Cebu connection, Ambassador Huang confirmed that air links between Manila and Xiamen — another major Fujian port city — will also be expanded with two additional weekly flights to accommodate rising business and leisure demand.
Together, the new services signal a broader normalization of aviation ties between the two countries following years of pandemic-related restrictions and periodic geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea that at times weighed on travel sentiment.
President Marcos welcomed the Fujian–Cebu route, describing it as a mechanism for strengthening “people-to-people exchanges,” a phrase commonly used in diplomatic language to denote cultural and economic interaction beyond government-to-government relations.
Officials from both countries emphasized that tourism and aviation cooperation remain among the least contentious areas of bilateral engagement and a practical avenue for economic collaboration.
Regional aviation trends
The Philippines has pursued a strategy of diversifying direct international links beyond Manila in recent years, positioning Cebu as a secondary gateway for both leisure and diaspora travel. Mactan-Cebu International Airport serves the central and southern Philippines and functions as a hub for resort destinations across the Visayas and Mindanao.
Airlines and tourism planners view secondary-city connectivity as essential for post-pandemic travel recovery across Southeast Asia, where leisure travelers increasingly prefer direct access to resort regions rather than transiting through congested capital airports.
The Fujian–Cebu route fits that pattern by linking a historic migration region in China directly with a major Philippine tourism hub.
Industry observers note that diaspora-driven routes often show resilient demand because they combine multiple travel motivations: family visits, heritage tourism, trade and education.
Outlook for bilateral travel
The success of the new service will likely influence future aviation agreements and route development between Chinese and Philippine cities. Tourism officials in both countries have previously discussed potential direct links between Cebu and other Chinese provincial centers with strong diaspora connections.
For the Philippines, restoring Chinese arrivals is considered crucial to reaching long-term tourism targets and supporting coastal resort economies dependent on international visitors. For China, the Philippines remains a culturally familiar and geographically proximate Southeast Asian destination with established business networks.
The March launch of the Quanzhou–Cebu flights therefore represents more than a new air route: it reflects a calculated effort by both governments and the aviation industry to rebuild travel flows through heritage ties and regional connectivity.
As Southeast Asia’s tourism sector continues to recover unevenly, the Fujian–Cebu corridor may serve as a test case for how diaspora-anchored aviation links can accelerate cross-border mobility and economic exchange despite broader geopolitical complexities.