Airline row upsets hotel, tuna industries in Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines - The ongoing rift between the management of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) and its labor union PAL Employees Association (PALEA) has affected the tuna and hotel industries in Mindanao, the Tourism Congress (TC) said.

In a meeting in General Santos City, representatives of tourism-related enterprises in the south reported huge revenue losses due to flight cancellations and disruptions on regular flights of the country's flag carrier.

Jaime Cura, TC vice president, said the effect of the cancelled flights includes loss in booked business of about 30 percent overall and the drop in hotel occupancy rates as much as 70 percent.

“This was due to the cancelled hotel bookings for conferences, banquets, and other functions of out-of-town groups and entities that had been previously confirmed,” said Cura.

For the tuna industry, the estimated losses are P50 million a day.

“The corresponding revenue value of a daily shipment stock of about 20 to 26 tons of tuna that did not reach its designated buyers because of cancelled flights,” the TC official pointed out.

PAL Vice-President Bong Cruz, who attended the regional consultation, apologized to stakeholders and explained the causes of the PAL-PALEA controversy and the steps now being taken by the airline company.

Cura said the dialogue affirmed the need for pre-planned cooperative arrangements among the various tourism sectors in anticipation of emergencies and contingencies that may have adverse effects on tourism businesses.

Source: PhilStar by: Jun Pasaylo