By Senator Francis 'Tol Tolentino
TOURISM is one of the Philippines’ primary industries. Tourists travel to the country to experience its tropical warmth, the beauty of its pristine waters, and the hospitality of its people, among others. Local and foreign visitors travel to the country through various transportation means most often through air transit as it is perceived to be the fastest and most convenient way to reach the Philippines.
Sadly, however, the recent blunders in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) raised concerns on our capability to guarantee world class travel experience for air travellers. The air transport facility suffered not only great loss but also lost face when inadequate power supply in the air traffic control system nearly caused airport operations to shut down, most unfortunately on an extremely busy day as January 1. This halt created of course a chain reaction, paralyzing domestic and international air transport to and from the county and causing utmost inconvenience to passengers who were mostly in a hurry to travel back home from a holiday season vacation.
There was no coup attempt or natural disaster or national security emergency. There was just loss of power supply in NAIA which could have been otherwise prevented by diligent management and periodic systems check. We surely lost face in the international travel business with some airlines having to either look for alternative runways on which to land or worse, fly back to the departure point for the safety of the whole flight. Local and international businesses as well as domestic tourism suffered great losses. What might be irrecoverable is the negative imprint this blunder created in the travel memory bank of those who had to wait for several hours in annoyance and distress.
Four months later, after the NAIA’s New Year slip-up, several domestic flights were cancelled and others delayed due to another power outage at the airport. Clearly, airport officials didn’t learn a lesson after the January 1 lapse. Whether it was a plot to embarrass the government or whether it was sheer mismanagement and negligence, the bottom line is that these setbacks hurt our transport and tourism industry the most. Our efforts to elevate Philippine tourism to be one of Asia’s finest is stalled by recurring management fumbles, which may perhaps be resolved through privatization. Privately managed Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Caticlan Airport are two of the country’s best. Shifting to privately managed air travel facilities may well be considered an option to provide air passengers with better air travel experience.
Several other issues haunt NAIA including airport security and corruption, many of which may be resolved by more efficient airport management and operation. NAIA is the country’s primary air gateway, providing guests, especially foreign travellers, with their first experience of Philippine tourism. As the cliché goes, first impressions last. Our “It’s more fun in the Philippines” , I think, should include fun and convenience in Philippine airports. (Sponsored content)