THE management of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) considered Davao City as an important market for bringing in the bulk of tourists in Cebu.

Aines Librodo, GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) head of airline marketing and tourism department, said the company has recorded about a total of 799,540 domestic passengers from Davao City in 2019.

The passenger volume has increased by six to seven percent from 2018.

“Davao is a very important market for us. People from Davao who are going to other destinations in the Visayas and also going abroad are passing through Cebu,” she said in a press conference prior to the company’s sales mission in Marco Polo Davao, Tuesday, January 28.

She said around 50 percent of the passengers from Davao are flying directly to Cebu or going to other destinations through Cebu. The other half of the passenger volume is bound for international destinations primarily Europe, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Middle East.

On Tuesday, the GMCAC presented to travel agents of Davao as well as tourism stakeholders in the region the MCIA airports’ offerings and new flights such as fights to Taipei and Los Angeles via China Airlines and Philippine Airlines (PAL), respectively.

“We really appreciate it because the Dabawenyos are already starting to see Cebu as a more convenient option to fly out of Davao to other destinations, instead of going all the way to Manila,” she said.

“We are inspired to do more of the sales missions here and to continuously work together with the travel and tourism industry in Davao to provide you with options,” she added.