THE sales mission by MACTAN-CEBU International Airport (MCIA) is seen to boost tourism and position the Queen City of the South as the transfer and transit hub.
MCIA kicked off this year’s first leg of Visayas-Mindanao Sales Mission in Davao City on Thursday, July 3, at SMX Lanang.
Rodante Ponio Jr., MCIA Airline Marketing and Tourism Development senior manager, said they aimed to capitalize on Cebu being the second biggest gateway after Manila.
MCIA is connected to 28 domestic destinations, next to Manila, with around 35 domestic destinations, predominantly in Luzon areas. Recently, MCIA has been named the 7th World’s Most Improved Airports in the 2025 Skytrax World Airport Awards.
“We have unique connections that Manila will not give such as Borongan in Samar and San Vicente in Palawan, which are less than an hour from Cebu, so you don’t need to go to Manila all the way from Davao to go to these destinations, Cebu should be your gateway,” Ponio said.
MCIA is currently operated by five airlines: Airswift, Cebu Pacific, AirAsia, Philippine Airlines, and Sunlight.
In terms of international flights, there are 19 carriers at present, connected to 13 international destinations.
Before the year ends, it is expected to launch direct flights to Australia.
The sixth edition of the sales mission gathered nearly 140 travel agents and tour operators at SMX Lanang to highlight stronger connections, smoother transfers, and smarter travel through CebConnects.
Ten airlines were present during the Sales Mission, including Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, Korean Air, Scoot, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, EVA Air, Starlux, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines, and lounge provider Plaza Premium Group.
CebConnects is one of the key strategic projects of MCIA, aiming to develop Cebu as the main gateway of tourism transfer in the country.
Ponio said with CebConnect, it is expected to go back to the 12-million passenger mark, hitting 2019 figures.
