Mactan-Cebu airport expansion seen to boost tourist arrivals in Cebu

THE COMPLETION of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA)’s expansion by 2018 is seen to further boost tourist arrivals in Cebu, effectively ramping up the need for more hotel and resort-oriented projects in the region.

Consultancy firm Colliers International said in a statement on Tuesday that the P17.5- billion public- private partnership (PPP) should entice more airlines to mount direct flights to Cebu, which has consistently been ranked as one of the most visited destinations in the country.

“Cebu’s rising attractiveness as a tourist spot and growing competitiveness as an investment destination should support a 15% to 20% growth in tourist arrival’s over the next 12 months,” Gerard Padriaga, general manager of Colliers’ Cebu office, was quoted as saying in the statement.

MCIA’s new terminal will have a total capacity of 12.5 million tourists per annum, almost thrice the capacity of the airport’s old facility.

In January to November 2016, Cebu recorded a total of 3.46 million domestic and foreign tourists, rising 12% yearon-year. The consultancy noted that Cebu outranked other key destinations such as Camarines Sur, Davao, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Palawan in terms of tourist arrivals.

“Cebu serves as the jump-off point to other Visayas and Mindanao destinations, hence the need to expand its airport’s capacity,” according to Colliers.

As of March 2017, the PPP Center reported that the project is 51% completed. The project’s private developer GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. meanwhile said that it is on track to reach the target completion date of June 2018.

Other than MCIA, Colliers highlighted the Cebu-Cordova bridge and proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) prioritized under the Duterte administration as other projects that could ease travel within the city.