Most wanted airport feature? A cinema

MANILA, Philippines - Cinema tops the list as the complimentary feature most travelers want in airports. In a recent global survey of over 10,000 travelers conducted by leading travel search site Skyscanner, a whopping 49 percent would like to see a cinema in their local airports.

Comfortable sleep also scored highly with over a third of respondents voting for sleep pods, a feature that Abu Dhabi Airport unveiled last month, which, at P500 per hour, provides an affordable and convenient alternative to a hotel room.

“Philippine airports may not have such facilities yet, but they definitely have their own comforts,” notes Janet Ranola, Skyscanner Philippines manager and group manager for Market Development. “Our NAIA airports all have free Wi-Fi access, a variety of food choices and comfortable padded benches are easily available for sleepy travelers. Who knows, a cinema may be included in the plans for the NAIA renovation.”

Voted in third place is an airport library, allowing travelers to borrow their holiday reading, showing that despite the rise of e-books, the traditional paperback is still a popular choice for travelers.  Outdoor space at the airport is also a highly desired feature, with a park area voted the fourth most wanted feature and a manmade beach taking the ninth spot.
Some more unlikely choices for airport facilities include karaoke, with five percent of travelers wanting their 15 minutes of fame at the airport, while a gym was a popular choice with 15 percent of respondents.

“As air travel becomes more accessible, it’s not too farfetched for airports of the future to have such facilities,” says Ranola. “Traveler comfort is fast becoming a priority for aviation and tourism authorities.”

Among the country’s neighbors, Singapore’s Changi Airport currently has movie theaters in Terminals 2 and 3 while the Hong Kong International Airport stands out with the largest IMAX theater in the city.

The Top 10 most wanted features:

Cinema – 49 percent

Sleep pod – 36 percent

Library – 32 percent

Park – 31 percent

Vanity area – 30 percent

Kids play area – 21 percent

Pool – 20 percent

Gym – 15 percent

Manmade beach – 12 percent

Bikes – 11 percent

While both males and females were in agreement over their top choice of an airport cinema, there was greater gender discrepancy with the other most-wanted features.  A massive 45 percent of women wanted a vanity area offering free cosmetics and hairstyling products (compared to just 14 percent of men) while 12 percent wanted a personal shopper (compared to eight percent of men).

Men, on the other hand, look for more active airport entertainment with a swimming pool voted the fifth most wanted feature, while 14 percent voted for complimentary bikes to get around the airport (compared to nine percent of females) and eight percent wanted a golf swing practice area (compared to just three percent of women).

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