Philippines Could See Japanese Tourism Boost From This All Nippon Airways Deal
Skift Take
A much improved PAL catches the eye of ANA, which aims to expand in Asia. The Philippine industry hopes it will greatly improve the slower growth in arrivals being seen from Japan.
The Philippine tourism industry expects to benefit from All Nippon Airways Holdings’ decision announced Tuesday to acquire a 9.5 percent stake in Philippine Airlines (PAL) for $95 million.
The parent of All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan’s largest carrier, will be buying the shares from Trustmark Holdings, owned by the family of Filipino-Chinese tycoon Lucio Tan, who is the largest shareholder in PAL Holdings, the parent company of the Filipino carrier.
Tan, who is PAL chairman, had said several times in the past said he was open to selling a stake to strategic investors to raise the airline's profile as one of the top in the world by 2020.
“PAL has long wanted investors to help us maximize our growth and development, so we can take our good progress so far to the next level," PAL vice president for corporate communications, Jose Enrique Perez de Tagle told Skift.
The deal could go a long way to reinvigorating inbound Japanese tourism to the Philippines, tourism officia
