Vol. XXI, No. 203 [ Business World Online ]
Friday, May 16, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
By Peter Julian Cayton and Chernobyl Diones, Junior Research Associates
The Wilbur brothers would never have thought that the flying machine would revolutionize how people got from one point in the globe to another. After more than a hundred years, the aviation industry has developed from the flammable flying machine of the 1900s to the jumbo planes of Boeing and Airbus.
Aviation has opened the windows to travel and tourism to distant countries and far-reaching frontiers. Developments in the aviation industry have served as a venue of growth of the tourism industry, especially in an archipelago such as the Philippines.
The air transport sub-sector has been very important to the growth of the economy. It grew by 14.8% in 2007, making it the main growth driver of the whole transport and storage sector during the year.
The sector�s growth was partly due to the large number of people who want to travel fast and cheap. With high visitor turnouts from airline services, hotels enjoyed high occupancy rates in 2007, resulting in 2.9% growth in hotel occupancy rates throughout the country. As expected, total output from the hotel and restaurant industry grew by 10.8% throughout the year.
There is a two-way relationship between the tourism and the aviation industries. A strong tourism industry results in high-ticket sales to various routes, while a competitive airline industry encourages higher traveler turnout. Island hotspots in the country extensively rely on the interdependence between the two industries as remote island destinations count on air transport to bring in tourists.
Recent development underscore the importance of this relationship.
There are plans of developing an international airport in Panglao, Bohol as part of the comprehensive program of the government to augment the accessibility to other parts of Visayas and Mindanao. Tourist activity in Panglao, known for its world-class diving sites, has been rising steadily, but transportation has always been considered an obstacle since it is only reached via seacraft.
The new Iloilo International Airport is also anticipated to heighten the tourism industry and the economy of Western Visayas. According to the Department of Transportation and Communication, passenger turnout is projected to reach 800,000 in 2010 from only 160,000 in 2004.
The government has likewise allotted P179 million for the development and expansion of the Kalibo airport in Aklan, which is an entryway to the world-famous Boracay Island.
Tourism in Boracay, one of the major tourist destinations in the Philippines, is highly dependent in airline travelers that access the island through flights from Manila to Caticlan or Kalibo.
Most airlines have frequent flights to Caticlan, with Philippine Airlines having daily flights, Air Philippines flying five times a week, and smaller airlines such as Cebu Pacific, Asian Spirit, and South East Asian Airlines having twice-a-week flights.
From an average of 29 flights in 2004, there are now 32. With low-cost domestic flights (P2,890 being the cheapest as of last March), overall traveler turnout in the Aklan province grew by 7.9% in 2007.
As should be expected, there was also high hotel occupancy in the region during the period. Western Visayas had an average occupancy rate of 52.2% for January-June 2007, a 21.7% growth rate from a year-ago.
With the high visitor arrivals facilitated by the airline industry to places like Bohol and Boracay, many foreign and local tourists get to experience the beauty of the Philippine landscape and the hospitality and warmth of the Filipino people.
The interwoven thread that connects tourism and aviation has improved the quality of life by expanding or opening up options to experience culture, leisure and recreation, and by linking individuals separated remotely by sea and land.
Thus, the air transport sector has brought about vast benefits, socially and economically, to the global society.
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