Philippine casinos to benefit from China tourism deal

China and the Philippines have struck a deal to boost tourist travel between the two Asian nations.

On Thursday, Philippine news outlet Business Mirror reported that China and the Philippines had reached agreement on implementing a 2002 memorandum of understanding signed by both countries. The goal of the MOU is to encourage investment in tourist infrastructure and to boost tourist traffic between the countries.

The first beneficiary of the new arrangement will be a twice-weekly charter flight service between the Chinese city of Guangzhou and Laoag, the capital of Ilocos Norte province in the Philippines. The flights, which get underway on Nov. 1, promise to deliver 400 Chinese tourists per week.

Interestingly, the charter service was initiated by the Jimei Group, a Macau-based casino junket operator that also operates two casinos in the Philippines, including the Fort Ilocandia and Resort Casino in Laoag.