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The planned revival of direct flights between Davao and Manado will be given support in terms of trade and tourism activities to ensure viability and sustainability
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Direct link cuts travel time between the neighbors to just an hour from the current 19-hour circuitous route
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Initiative is a joint effort by the Mindanao Development Authority, and regional offices of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Tourism
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MinDA is laying out a “demand-first” strategy that focuses on building tourism, trade, and investment flows before the route relaunch
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TransNusa airline expressed interest in reviving the route, signaling renewed private sector confidence
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DOT Region XI is working with the Civil Aviation Board and Air Service Development Committee on route development
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Previous direct flights were discontinued due to low demand, limited cargo, underdeveloped tourism links, and the COVID-19 disruption
The planned revival of Davao-Manado direct flights, which cuts travel time between the neighbors to just an hour from the current 19-hour circuitous route, will have support in terms of trade and tourism activities to ensure viability and sustainability.
Davao City is located in the Philippine’s southern Mindanao island while Manado is the capital of Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province. Both are part of the sub-regional grouping Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area.
Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) deputy executive director Romeo Montenegro said rebuilding the air link requires laying the economic groundwork first.
“We need to be able to reestablish the direct connectivity, flights between Davao and Manado. We have to create the demand, both for tourism and business, so airlines can decide to serve the route again,” he said in a press release.
The MinDA, Department of Tourism (DOT), and Department of Trade and Industry are jointly leading the effort under the BIMP-EAGA framework, taking a deliberate demand-driven approach designed to avoid the pitfalls that doomed earlier attempts to operate the route.
Previous direct services between the two cities were discontinued due to persistently low and inconsistent passenger loads, thin cargo volumes, and underdeveloped tourism ties, problems that were then compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ: MinDA pushes revival of air, sea routes to uplift BIMP-EAGA trade, tourism
Montenegro said what distinguishes the current effort is its sequencing: rather than launching flights and hoping demand materializes, government agencies and local stakeholders are actively cultivating tourism circuits, trade exchanges, and local government partnerships before asking airlines to commit.
“Connectivity can only be sustained if we build strong demand through tourism flows, trade exchanges, and investment partnerships between Mindanao and North Sulawesi,” he said.
The strategy is already drawing interest from the private sector, according to MinDA.
During a recent outbound mission to Manado, DOT and MinDA officials met with executives of TransNusa, an Indonesian carrier that signaled openness to operating the Davao-Manado route, a sign, officials said, of renewed airline confidence in the corridor’s commercial viability.
DOT Region XI director Tanya Rabat-Tan confirmed the route revival is embedded in the agency’s regional tourism agenda.
“Part of our commitment is really the revival of the Davao-Manado connectivity. We are working on route development together with our central office, the Civil Aviation Board, and the Air Service Development Committee,” she said.
Tan identified a range of tourism segments ripe for cross-border development, including dive tourism, adventure travel, and medical and wellness tourism. “There are many opportunities that we already saw, and we expect to discover more through engagements with our counterparts here,” she added.
The initiative also advances the Davao Triangle Gateway Corridor, involving the provinces of Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental, positioning eastern Mindanao as a unified gateway to the wider BIMP-EAGA region.
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Officials said the corridor is essential in generating the consistent passenger and cargo flows, through integrated tourism, agriculture, and trade activity.
MinDA said the push aligns with the administration’s priority of strengthening regional connectivity and positioning Mindanao as a competitive gateway to ASEAN markets.
