HEFEI - A direct air route was launched late Thursday between Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, and Kalibo, the main gateway to central Philippine's famous resort island Boracay, according to Anhui Civil Aviation Airport Group.

This is the first air route that connects Hefei with the Philippines.

Operated by the Pan Pacific Airlines using a 179-seat Airbus A320 aircraft, the route is scheduled to depart Hefei at 8:20 pm Beijing time every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and arrives in Kalibo the next day at 00:20 am local time. The inbound flight leaves Kalibo at 3:20 pm Beijing time and arrives in Hefei at 7:20 pm.

The Chinese mainland is the largest source of visitors to Boracay Island, which is off Aklan Province in the central Philippines and known for beaches with unsullied fine talcum powder-sand, sapphire seas and spectacular sunsets.

A total of 218,161 Chinese tourists from the Chinese mainland flocked to Boracay during the first five months of 2019, up 46 percent from a year ago, according to data from the Malay Municipal Tourism Office.