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Thursday, December 18, 2003
Tourist arrivals up by 24%
DESPITE bombings outside the city's airport and seaport, the region's influx of tourists increased to 24 percent as of October, said Regional Tourism Chief Sonia Garcia on Tuesday.
Majority of the visitors, however, are still domestic business travelers. Only thirty percent of the total visitors are leisure travelers.
"If there's one thing that we learned from the bombings, it is to never stop with the marketing and promotion efforts," Garcia said.
Garcia attributes the increase in tourist arrivals to international sales missions and domestic travel marts, as well as improved peace and order conditions and better economic conditions. These factors have pushed airline companies, particularly SilkAir, to increase their number of flights to and from Davao.
Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific Consultant on Public Affairs Charles Lim said Tuesday there is a need to promote the world-class Davao International Airport (DIA) to people in neighboring regions.
Lim suggested DIA should also have a board of directors, composed of local personalities, to run the airport "because it's the locals who know how to encourage other airlines to fly to Davao."
He said another scheme to encourage airlines is to give discounts and incentives. Christie Enriquez-Uayan/RCB
(December 18, 2003 issue)
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