Economic jackpot and the great airport experience

By: Malou Guanzon Apalisok October 06,2014 - 11:58 AM

The GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) is all set to take over control of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Terminal in three weeks  and from the looks of it, the partnership between the Bangalore-based GMR and Megawide representing the Philippine consortium is already in the groove to take the Mactan Cebu Airport to a new level.

Thursday last week, the GMCAC invited businessmen, government officials, members of the creative community and the media in a snazzy launch of the corporate logo that henceforth will greet the traveling community when it passes through the country’s second busiest airport.

The corporate identity looks like a tropical flower at first glance, or a snazzy rendition of the sun.  I heard GMCAC’s top executive Louie Ferrer spent sleepless nights working with the creative team of Publicis in the logo design including the coinage of the buzzword “Start Here”.  All in all, I find the design clean and eye-catching.  The catchword is cheeky in a fun way.

When investors pour in more than P14 billion to the economic stream, the tote has to be matched by flashy presentations and GMCAC did not disappoint.

The launch featured a mini concert by young and very talented singers, dancers and a fashion show of airport uniforms by Cary Santiago, designer of the rich and famous.   A media colleague remarked only the young and the svelte of figure could get away with gray, maroon and cream.  Indeed, the color schemes speak a lot about GMCAC’s workers’ profile.

“Morag malingaw na ta ani inig agi nato sa airport” (We will be entertained when we pass through the airport),” I heard somebody in the audience say after looking at uniforms that belonged more in the fashion ramp than in a busy airport.   Many of my media colleagues were still talking about Cary’s designs when we headed home.  As we called it a night, it seemed the legal tussle between GMR-Megawide and Filinvest-Changi Airport Group had become a memory.

I had an interesting conversation with Landbank Mactan branch manager Ramon Destajo during the event and he pointed out that the completion of the Airport Terminal 2 in 2018 will bring about a surge in tourism arrivals.  According to Ramon, the estimate of 6 to 7 million tourist arrivals between 2020 and 2025 may be very conservative because once word of mouth about Cebu’s tropical or boutique airport spreads, the spike in tourism arrivals could hit 10 or even 15 million.

The impact in the local economy through tourism-oriented industries will be unheard of.  Ramon told me that even now, Cebu is attracting young executives and new graduates because jobs can be had around here in just a matter of weeks owing to the presence of many business startups and call centers that employ more than 100,000 employees.

Let us say the forecast of 7 million tourists a year will hit the mark in five years-time.  Revenues will soar and there will be a mad scramble for workers among hotels, restaurants, souvenir and gift shops, etc.  Tens of thousands will be absorbed not just in the tourism industry, putting more pressure in transportation, housing, water, health and other basic utilities.

My point is, while a world-class airport needs to be matched by much needed infrastructure facilities like good roads, efficient traffic and security systems that would make visitors want to return again and again to Cebu, the government has also to make preparations for the wave of employment.  This is the obverse side of the economic jackpot that Cebu will earn once the airport facility is up and running.  Our government officials and planners cannot just wait for things to happen.

GMCAC executives are right in pointing out that the airport is just the gateway to an unforgettable experience to this central island, but what if visitors can’t get to their hotels from the airport because the streets in Lapulapu, Mandaue and Cebu cities are flooded knee-deep after a downpour lasting  30 minutes?

While the major public-private partnership project is in progress, local government units need to have a rational and concerted plan that will address these problems in a broader sense, not just in their respective areas of jurisdiction.  LGUs need to be proactive now, be ready to absorb the huge number of tourists otherwise the experience of a tropical gateway will begin and end just in the airport.

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TAGS: airport, GMCAC, GMR-Megawide

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