Saturday, March 31, 2007 Cebu now attracting more tourists from Europe, airline official says
CEBU is opening up to the world.
This was what Mary Rose Macapagal, Qatar Airways Cebu and South Philippines district sales manager, said having observed the traffic of European tourists to Cebu.
“They come as a whole big delegation or in groups,” Ma-capagal said, adding that European travelers account for 70 to 80 percent of the airline’s passengers.
Qatar Airways, Qatar’s flag carrier, has been operating three times weekly flights direct from Doha, Qatar to Cebu since 2003. The average travel time is nine and a half hours.
Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 revealed that European tourists to Cebu grew by 29.75 percent last year or from 34,178 to 44,436 in the year previous.
Top 3
Tourists from the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland were identified as the top three visitors frequenting the province. “They come for the beaches, the resorts,” Macapagal said, referring to the interests of the European market on Cebu as a destination.
She said Qatar Airways is also bringing Russian travelers to Cebu.
Bookings
Earlier, DOT Undersecre-tary Phineas Alburo said tourism stakeholders are penetrating the Russian market, whose average length of stay in the province is from seven to 14 days.
Apart from Europeans, Macapagal said the airline also gets bookings from expatriates and locals who travel to Jerusalem and Rome, among others, for pilgrimages to the Holy Land.
They usually leave the country as early as March, she added.
Meanwhile, Macapagal is optimistic the airline will draw more foreign tourists to Cebu, especially with Qatar Airways’ launch of additional summer flights from Doha to New York, Washington, Bali, Ho Chi Minh, Chennai, Geneva, and Stockholm. The airline now flies to over 75 destinations worldwide.
In the Philippines, it has 12 weekly flight frequencies, including nine weekly flights from Manila to Doha.
Passengers
While it anticipates the entry of more foreign tourists to the Philippines, Macapagal said the airline management does not have plans to increase its flight frequencies.
“We’re okay for now,” she said, adding that the company averages about 800 passengers per week.
With 54 aircraft carriers to date, Qatar Airways is determined to double the fleet by 2015, Macapagal added.
According to a press statement, Qatar Airways plans to acquire 60 new generation Airbus A350s and 20 Boeing 777s worth a total $15.2 billion.
Capacity
During the introduction of its improved Airbus A330 aircraft carrier last Thursday at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Macapagal told reporters that Qatar Airways will soon be ordering four Airbus A380 “super jumbos” flight carriers, with a seating capacity of 500 passengers.
She said the new carriers are scheduled for delivery in 2009 to coincide with the opening of the redeveloped New Doha International Airport.
Recently, Qatar Airways was awarded by Skytrax, an independent aviation industry-monitoring agency, as one of the only four airlines worldwide with a five-star ranking for service and excellence. (MMM)
