RP travel agents bat for strong local airline industry

Philippine tourism will need a strong and healthy local airline industry if it is to achieve its growth targets.

Robert Lim Joseph, president of the Network of Independent Travel Agencies (NITAS), said yesterday local airlines will play a crucial role in the government’s overall tourism program.

Joseph noted that bulk of international flights still land in Metro Manila although Cebu continues to be a secondary destination which is also served by international flights.

Local carriers bear the responsibility of dispersing foreign tourists from the main hubs to the provincial destinations, Joseph said.

"The country’s tourism industry has a stake in the welfare of the local airline industry. They fly, we fly," Joseph said.

Joseph said access is still the key to tourism growth. But he added the government needs to be cautious in its plan to liberalize civil aviation "abruptly" and allow foreign carriers to operate additional flights and even serve some domestic routes.

"All this talk about open skies really sounds good on paper. But we need to take stock of the realities in the local industry. Is it really better for us to just stand idly and watch the local airline industry go down the drain in our haste to allow foreign carriers to come in and take over? This is a very idealistic view of things, in fact too idealistic that we should get a firm grip on reality," Joseph said.

He cited the positions of the flag carriers Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific Airways (CPA). "CPA has already announced that it prefers a rationalized progressive liberalization based on actual demand for third and fourth freedom traffic which should be pursued on a country-by-country basis," Joseph said.

CPA had earlier asked the now-defunct Economic Mobilization Group to go slow on its liberalization program, pointing out that the Philippines is a fledging economy and its aviation industry has not yet matured to viability and cannot possibly meet the onslaught of foreign competition accompanying an open skies regime.

PAL had also aired concerns over the looming issue of excessive liberalization. "Take PAL as an example. It accounts for around 60 to 70 percent of domestic air services including cargo. Should the government apply an excessively liberalized civil aviation policy, PAL might fold. And this is also reality, that local business will suffer. This should be clear to government planners," Joseph said.

He explained that NITAS is backing a civil aviation policy that takes into account existing market conditions, actual demand, and full use of air traffic rights.

"We need these local carriers healthy because they are the nation’s lifelines. They feed the local economies and sustain the growth. This very basic responsibility should not be jeopardized or threatened. An unhealthy local airline industry can be a disaster for the national economy," Joseph said.