Mactan-Cebu International Airport wins best airport in Asia-Pacific region

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport has been recognized as the best airport in the Asia-Pacific region serving under five million passengers in the recently held Routes Awards.

In a press release, Routes commended GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC) for always taking a “two-pronged approach to route development: airline marketing to create supply and destination marketing to ensure the sustainability of its airline partners' presence and address the demand for air services.”

The Routes Awards are organized by the aviation networking firm Routes, which organizes and operates airline and airport networking events.

Aside from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the Department of Tourism was also recognized in the Destination category for its efforts to “partner with airports and airlines to reinstate discontinued routes and secure new air service.” The department's local and international marketing efforts, travel exchanges, campaigns, roadshows, and familiarization tours were also recognized.

The Routes Awards overall winner was the Singapore Changi Airport, which was able to increase its traffic to 32.2 million passenger movements in 2022. The number is a huge increase from the 3.1 million passenger movements it had in 2021. Routes also pointed out that the airport has managed to recover 47 percent of its passenger traffic compared to 2019 and has established itself as the seventh busiest international airport in the world.

This recognition for the Mactan-Cebu International Airport is certainly an improvement over last year's news that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was considered the third “most stressful” airport in Asia and Oceania, with 57.81 percent of the reviews for the airport indicating stress. NAIA ranked behind Sydney Airport in Australia and the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Vietnam.

This new recognition, along with other recent awards to Philippine hospitality establishments, certainly helps the Department of Tourism's efforts to market itself as a destination for tourists. Just recently, the Forbes Travel Guide named 13 hotels and two spas as part of its 2023 Forbes Travel Guide Star Awards. Tubbataha Reef and Marine Park was also part of the 19 Beautiful Destinations With the Best Scuba Diving in the World list released by the publication Travel + Leisure last month.

CHECK OUT THE OTHER TRAVEL AWARDS THE COUNTRY HAS WON IN THE PAST YEAR IN THE GALLERY BELOW.