THE Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) has been shortlisted for the Routes Asia 2020 Awards under the “4-20 million passengers” category.
MCIA is competing with Perth Airport (Australia), Chubu Centrair International Airport (Japan) and Adelaide Airport (Australia) in the said category. Clark International Airport was also shortlisted.
The shortlisted airports and tourism organizations have been contacted and asked for submissions to support their nomination. The submissions will then be reviewed by a panel of airline judges, who will select the category winners and the overall winner.
The award ceremony will take place during the Routes Asia 2020, the biggest route development event in Asia-Pacific, in Chiang Mai, Thailand on March 9, 2020.
The Routes Asia 2020 Awards recognize the impressive route development marketing support that airports and tourism authorities provide to their airline partners.
Since the privatization of MCIA in 2014, the country’s second busiest air hub has since expanded its connectivity to major cities in Asia.
There are no direct services yet between Cebu and Europe, the US, Canada, South America, Central America, the Carribean, Africa, Southern Asia, Central Asia or Oceania. Emirates is currently the only airline flying non-stop from Cebu to the Middle East via Dubai.
But by the second quarter of 2020, Cebu is opening two long-haul routes to Los Angeles and Qatar.
Over the past month, organizations from across Asia-Pacific have been campaigning for votes through a variety of marketing channels.
Following a competitive voting process, airports “have been shortlisted for their outstanding achievements,” according to Routesonline, a route and airline data provider.
Under the “over 20 million passengers” category, finalists include Singapore Changi Airport, Incheon International Airport, Fukuoka Airport, Melbourne Airport and Narita International Airport For the “4 million passengers” category, shortlisted airports are A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Kozhikode Calicut International Airport, Phu Quoc International Airport, Hiroshima Airport and Vladivostok International Airport.
In the “destination” category, the Philippines Department of Tourism is also among the finalists, along with the Ministry of Tourism Indonesia, Japan National Tourism Organization, Brisbane Marketing and Tourism Auckland.