Clark Airport wins Int’l Award in under 20M passengers category

The Clark International Airport on Monday won an international award, beating 6 other airports in Asia.
The Clark airport (IATA Code: CRK), won the 2013 Routes Airport Marketing Awards in the Asia Heats, under 20 million passengers category.

The award was given during an annual gathering of the region’s airline and airport operators in Mumbai, India.

The Philippine Department of Tourism (DoT) also received the Highly Commended-Destination Marketing Award, narrowly missing top honors in the category won by Tourism Australia.

Routes Asia, organized by UBM Aviation Routes Ltd based in Manchester in the UK, is the largest route development event for the entire Asia region.

This year, over 700 aviation professionals travelled to Mumbai to participate in the global airline and airport networking event.

Clark International Airport Corporation president Victor Jose Luciano, in a press statement Tuesday, said the awards are a major boost for Philippine aviation and tourism.

“The real winner here is not only Clark Airport nor the Department of Tourism but the entire aviation and tourism industry in the country. Slowly but surely, we are putting the Philippines back on the global stage and the major players in these industries are taking notice and positive interest in our country,” Luciano said.

“Also, what we have shown here is that under the good governance thrust of President Aquino, the Philippines can at last be at par with our more developed and prosperous neighbors in the region,” he added.

According to UBM Aviation Routes, the “Routes Airport Marketing Awards recognize and reward the highest standards of marketing activities undertaken by airports. This year the awards were split into two categories based on the size of the airport, and also a new tourism award for best destination marketing campaign by a tourism authority.”

In the under 20 million passengers category, CRK edged out 6other major airports in Asia, namely, Aukland International Airport in Mangere, New Zealand; Bengaluru International Airport in Devanahalli, Kamataka, India; Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad, Hyderabad, Andrha Pradesh, India; Juanda-Surabaya International Airport in Sidoarjo, Indonesia; Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan; and Siem Reap International Airport in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Short-listed for the Destination Marketing Awards were the Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Philippine Department of Tourism, the Singapore Tourism Board, Tourism Australia, and Tourism New Zealand.

Changi International Airport in Singapore won the award for the over 20 million passengers category.

Susan Willis, Marketing and Analysis Manager at UBM Aviation Routes, said CRK got the nod of awards judges due to its “effective growth” in 2012.

“Your airport was voted for by the airline community together with a panel of industry experts drawn from the airline networking planning community where they considered your marketing services and effective growth over the last 12 months,” Willis told Clark airport official.

Luciano cited CRK’s “phenomenal performance” in terms of growth in its passenger traffic and aircraft movement last year.

“Clark Airport had yet another banner year in 2012 posting an unprecedented 72% growth in passenger traffic, 69% increase in air traffic movements, and 44% increase in airport revenues. Despite another challenging year for the global aviation industry, Clark Airport continued its march as one of the region’s fastest growing airports during the past four years,” Luciano said.

At the end of 2012, CRK drew a total of 1,315,757 domestic and international passengers surpassing the 767,109 figure from the previous year. Meanwhile, airport revenue grew by 44% from P355 million in 2011 to P511 million in 2012 even though expenses in running the airport increased by only 7% or from P303 million in 2011 to P324 million in 2012.

Luciano said “2013 promises to be an even bigger year for Clark airport.”

“The start of the new year brought with it new optimism and higher expectations. After signing an agreement with CIAC during the second week of February this year, Emirates announced that it has selected CRK as its second Philippine destination with daily direct flights from Dubai to Clark starting on October 1, 2013,” he said.