PHL sets sights on luring more European tourists as EU lifts air ban on PAL

(Updated 7:11 p.m.) Now that flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) can again fly passengers to and from Europe, Manila needs super campaigns and better tourism infrastructure to set the tone for growing the number of arrivals to the country, particularly from the tourist-rich European Community.

 

This is a paradigm shift for the Philippines, home to Asia's first airline, after the European Union on Wednesday revealed that regulators have lifted the three-year ban on direct flights from Manila on improved international safety standards. 

 

Expectations of an over 8.5-percent increase in arrivals from the EU member states practically melted overnight with the direct Manila-to-Europe links restored. 

 

“European tourists in the Philippines... 8.5 percent... With the lifting of the ban and the announcement of PAL to mount flights to Europe, we expect accelerated growth rate from major markets such as UK, Germany and France,” Benito Bengzon, Department of Tourism (DOT) assistant secretary for International Tourism Promotions, said in a text message to GMA News Online. 

 

Arrivals from Europe increase by 8.5 percent year-on-year to 213, 598 in January to May this year, latest DOT data showed.

 

France, Germany and the United Kingdom are key Philippine markets in the euro zone, which groups the 17 single-currency member states of the EU, according to DOT. 

 

In a separate text message, Federation of Tourism in the Philippines (FTIP) president Aileen Clemente said the tourism industry will be “more aggressive in promoting the Philippines to these markets” in order to meet the forecasts. 

 

Industry players are now planning promotions, events and meetings to drum up interest in key products like medical and cultural tourism and ecotourism, said Clemente, who is also public relations officer of   Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA). 

 

EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux on Wednesday announced that PAL will fly to EU countries again, three years after a ban for failing to comply with international safety standards.  

 

Following the EU announcement, PAL president Ramon Ang said the company is mounting direct flights between Manila and Europe as early as September. This would make the flag carrier the only airline directly linking both points after AirFrance-KLM stopped its Manila-Amsterdam flights in April 2012.

 

But industry executives on Thursday maintained that developments in connectivity and destination infrastructure are still keys to hitting the targeted 10 million foreign tourists being coveted by the current administration at end of President Benigno Aquino III's term. 

 

In a statement Thursday, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said, “[W]e need our international air seats and connectivity greatly enhanced, in addition to our ongoing internal development work on infrastructure, destination and facilities.”

 

Such initiatives are at the forefront of the government's National Tourism Development Plan 2011-2016. 

 

Clemente said they “are also constantly pushing for the cooperation of other government agencies... in ensuring the success of the promotion of Philippine tourism.”

 

Philippine aviation officials, expecting the US Federal Aviation Authority to follow the EU air initiative, are now working toward having the European authorities lift the ban on other Philippine carriers. 

 

Such initiatives remain in line with economic managers' goal to increase the share of tourism to the country's economy and employment.

Economists agreed that the lifting of the ban will definitely boost tourism, adding a new option for tourists from Europe to Manila and vice versa, but to what extent depends on the improvement of Europe's economy.

Benjamin Diokno, University of the Philippines economics professor, said it is a positive development for PAL in particular and the economy in general.

"It will definitely boost tourism though its impact is more difficult to quantify at the moment given the still weak world economy, especially Europe. But everly little improvement counts," he said in a text message.  

In a separate interview, University of Asia and Pacific School of Economics dean Peter Lee U said huge number of tourists from Europe may not immediate come to the Philippines given the relatively weak economic conditions in Europe.

"This might be a good time for PAL to come especially when Europe recovers from its slump. With a market that's attractive, proper marketing strategies must be implemented in order to get a foothold in Europe," he said.

Last flight to EU in 1999

In a statement, PAL president and COO Ramon S. Ang said the development signals the westward expansion of the flag carrier's international route network with its return to such popular European destinations as London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rome and Madrid.

In August 2012, PAL forged a $7-billion deal with Toulouse-based EADS to acquire 54 new Airbus aircraft—34 A321ceo, 10 A321neo, and 10 A330-300s—slated for delivery this year.
 
In September 2012, PAL also exercised an option to acquire 10 more wide-bodied aircraft in another deal valued at $2.5 billion.  

"When we fly back to Europe after an absence of 15 years, we can boast of a newer fleet of aircraft and top quality customer service," said Ang.

PAL's last commercial flight to the EU was in 1999.

When asked on the details of PAL's last flight to Europe, PAL officials declined to comment on the matter.

On its website, PAL said it suspended operations on September 23, 1998 as the Asian financial crisis took its toll, aggravated by industrial action by its unions, resulting in the pulling out of most routes and drastically reducing its fleet.

PAL retrenched 1,400 flight attendants who went on strike in 1998.

It resumed operations on a limited scale on October 7, 1998. — with a report from Danessa O. Rivera/VS/BM, GMA News