First published in InfraTalks, Aboitiz InfraCapital’s monthly column in The Manila Times.
As the holiday rush tapers off, Philippine airports remain crowded—full flights, long queues, and terminals operating at peak capacity. At first glance, this suggests a tourism sector firing on all cylinders.
Yet the data tells a more restrained story. From January to November 2025, international tourist arrivals declined by over 2% year-on-year, with softness from key markets such as South Korea and China. Demand exists, but regional competition has intensified. Travelers today are not just choosing destinations; they are choosing systems—how efficiently, predictably, and comfortably they can move.
This is where the Philippines still underleverages one of its most strategic assets: its airports.
Tourism does not begin at the beach or the festival ground. It begins at the airport. And increasingly, airports are not neutral infrastructure—they are competitive instruments.
Airports as Market Enablers, Not Just Gateways
In Southeast Asia, where destinations offer similar climate, cuisine, and culture, friction matters. Long layovers, missed connections, and congested terminals impose a “hidden cost” on travel decisions. Reduce that friction, and destinations become materially more competitive.
This logic underpins the recent repositioning of Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), the country’s second-busiest gateway. Since coming under the operation of Aboitiz InfraCapital in late 2024, MCIA has focused on one central proposition: connectivity as value.
The most consequential shift has been operational. Domestic-to-domestic minimum connecting times have been reduced to 35 minutes, while domestic-international and international-international transfers have been standardized at 60 minutes—down from roughly 90 minutes previously. These changes place MCIA among the faster transfer hubs in the region.
For airlines, this means tighter flight banks, better aircraft utilization, and fewer misconnects. For travelers, it means less idle time and greater confidence in multi-leg itineraries. For tour operators, it expands the range of viable routing options through the Philippines.
In short, Cebu’s geographic advantage—central to the archipelago—is now paired with execution.
When Performance Attracts Routes
Operational efficiency tends to precede network growth. Over the past year, MCIA has added or relaunched international routes to Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Hanoi, Brisbane, Guam, and Cheongju, alongside expanded domestic services to Davao, Iloilo, Caticlan, Calbayog, Catarman, and Siquijor.
These routes are not merely incremental. They strengthen Cebu’s role as a redistribution hub, allowing international arrivals to fan out quickly to secondary destinations. In tourism economics, this matters: hubs that work well do not just serve one city—they lift surrounding regions.
The same logic is now being applied across other Aboitiz-operated gateways.
At Bohol-Panglao International Airport, improvements have focused on smoother passenger flows, clearer wayfinding, and better integration with ground transport—reducing the time between landing and actually reaching the destination.
At Laguindingan International Airport, expanded frequencies—now exceeding 300 weekly domestic flights—are strengthening Northern Mindanao’s connectivity to Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao. This supports a more distributed tourism and commerce model, easing pressure on a handful of familiar hubs while opening access to emerging destinations.
Together, these gateways operate not in competition, but as complementary nodes in a national system.
A Marketing Opportunity—If Policy Catches Up
January marks the start of the Philippine fiesta season, anchored by major events such as Sinulog in Cebu, Ati-Atihan in Kalibo, and Dinagyang in Iloilo. These are large-scale, predictable demand drivers that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Yet they are often marketed in isolation—city by city, event by event.
Efficient hub airports change that equation. With fast transfers through Cebu, travelers can realistically attend multiple festivals or combine cultural events with beach and countryside destinations in a single trip. This opens the door to hub-led tourism marketing—itineraries built around connectivity rather than geography alone.
For airlines, tour operators, and tourism authorities, the prize is not simply higher arrival counts, but higher yield per visitor. Travelers who move easily between destinations stay longer, spend more, and are more likely to return.
Where Policy Must Step In
If airports are to function as growth enablers rather than bottlenecks, policy alignment becomes decisive.
First, airports should be planned and promoted as part of a national tourism system, not as standalone facilities. Marketing efforts and route development strategies work best when they reflect how travelers actually move—through combinations of primary and regional gateways.
Second, aviation regulation must better align with tourism outcomes. Slot allocation, curfews, and route approvals are often assessed purely through an aviation lens. Incorporating tourism impact—connectivity to secondary destinations, peak-season resilience, and regional dispersal—would lead to more economically coherent decisions.
Third, airport investment must be coordinated with LGU transport planning. Airports do not end at the terminal doors. Road access, traffic management, and last-mile connectivity shape the traveler experience as much as runways and gates.
Finally, incentives should focus on yield, not just volume. The goal should not simply be more arrivals, but longer stays and higher spend—outcomes best supported by efficient hubs that enable multi-destination travel.
Infrastructure as Policy Execution
The Philippines does not lack tourism ambition. What it lacks, at times, is policy execution that treats infrastructure as strategy, not just capacity.
Airports that perform under pressure send powerful signals—to airlines deciding where to deploy aircraft, to tour operators designing packages, and to travelers choosing destinations where ease outweighs novelty.
Marketing, pricing, and visa policy all matter. But without strong, reliable gateways, tourism growth hits a ceiling. Infrastructure does not replace destination appeal—it unlocks it.
As the country moves into the 2026 travel cycle, one lesson is clear: the journey itself is now part of the product. And if Philippine tourism is to compete sustainably, it must begin—quite literally—at the airport.
Happy travels for the remainder of 2025, and see you this 2026!
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