Better air connectivity boosts tourism growth

Increased air connectivity has supported the growth in the tourism industry.

Judy Gabato, officer-incharge at the Department of Tourism in Region 7, said at a recent tourism event in Cebu City the increased regional connectivity has allowed Mactan-Cebu International Airport easier access to key destinations and rise in visitors coming to the province.

She cited the CebuShanghai, China route by China Eastern Airlines that will start this October.

The said airline also commenced its Cebu-Canton route last June 28.

The official cited that Mactan airport is currently connected to 18 international destinations and 29 domestic routes with 21 partner air carriers.

SichuanAirlines, a regional airline based in Chengdu, had launch last March four times weekly flight from Cebu to Chongqing, the largest municipality in southwest China starting as a chartered flight.

Xiamen Airlines, which has existing Xiamen- Cebu flights, had also added twice weekly Cebu-Fuzhou flights and Cebu-Jinjiang last April 2017.

For the next two years, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., the private operator of MCIA, had said it is planning to introduce new routes that will connect Cebu to Australia, Europe and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as expand routes to China, Japan and South Korea.

GMCAC had announced it is aiming to reach 10 million passenger arrivals at the MCIA by the end 2017, a 12 percent increase from the 8.9 million recorded in 2016.

The joint venture, which won the contract in April 2014 for the P17.52-billion MCIA modernization, is scheduled to open by June 2018 the Terminal 2 which will boost the airport's capacity to 12.5 million passengers.

Meanwhile, Gabato said there were close to 40 foreign buyers who joined the recently held Cebu Travel Exchange (CTX) which was seen to provide an opportunity for foreign agents to gain and sustain their interest in the Philippines as a travel destination.

The CTX is a businessto-business session among tourism industry players, giving them the opportunity to interact with one another.

Foreign buyers who joined the CTX included agents from Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and USA, among others.