DETC Philippines found out during their survey in 2017 that CLARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT......read for more details

            In 2013, Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) initiated the conduct of a survey in order to gather information about its passengers’ socio-demographic characteristics and air travel preferences with the aim of identifying the factors affecting the travel market of Clark International Airport (IATA: CRK) vis a vis Ninoy Aquino International Airport (IATA:MNL).

          This survey report contains the findings from the 1^st quarter of 2017 CRK and MNL Market Survey for Catchment Area Passengers conducted by the Data Engine Training & Consultancy (DETCPh) contracted by the Clark International Airport Corporation.

This survey provides insights about the CRK and MNL passengers’ trip purpose and duration, the mode of transportation used going to and from the airport, the number of flying companions, the different factors that travelers are considering when choosing an airport and other socio-demographic characteristics of the passengers.

            Based on the result of the survey, most of the CRK passengers were from Pampanga (29%) and Pangasinan (20%), and for MNL, were from NCR (21%) and Cebu (6%). For easier analysis and comparison, the highlights of the survey results were summarized in the succeeding figures.

            It was also observed that a significant number of MNL passengers were residents of the CRK Catchment Area (CA) – Regions I, II, III and CAR. This market segment was further analysed to determine its potential.

            The first leg of the passenger survey was conducted from 14-20 March 2017 at CRK, while the second part of the passenger survey was conducted from 24-30 March 2017 at MNL. The target participants of the survey were passengers of CRK and MNL, and were selected based on Stratified Random Sampling at 95% confidence level with 0.05 margin of error.

FINDINGS:

For the period 2013 to 2017, many characteristics of CRK passengers have remained constant. However, there were changes observed in 2017 in several areas.

            CRK passengers were mostly female with an average age of 19-37 years old. In addition, majority of the respondents were Filipinos residing in Pampanga and Pangasinan which can be attributed to the accessibility factor of CRK. By comparing the 2016 and 2017 data, an increase in the number of foreign visitors can be observed. It was further observed that Indian nationals have a greater share than other nationalities. Most of the foreigners stayed with their family/relatives’ place during their visit. On the average, majority of the respondents stayed in the country within one month to a year.

            In terms of occupation, majority of the passengers were OFWs – consistent with the findings in previous years. Notable was the increase in the number of traveling employees both from the government and private sectors. They typically travel due to OFW deployment or VFR, alone or with one or two companions. Moreover, the survey results showed that most passengers were earning a monthly salary of Php 50,000 and above. In addition, majority of the respondents have visited Asian countries such as Singapore and UAE.

            Most of the passengers preferred a budget/low cost airline and economy fare class due to quality of service being offered by these airlines. For the past five years, majority of the respondents have traveled three to five times. A significant part of the total passengers (38%) interviewed were not frequent travelers as they traveled for once or twice in the past five years. In terms of medium of information, the internet plays a huge role as most of the passengers have chosen the airport’s and airline’s websites as their main source of flight information.

            While most of the passengers used private vehicles to/from CRK, many considered availing the express bus service to CRK if available in their respective areas. Finally, passengers were motivated to travel in CRK due to airport service (environment, orderliness and assistance) and airline’s travel cost promos.

For the first quarter of 2017, a survey was conducted to analyze the characteristics of MNL passengers. The findings were summarized in the succeeding statements.

            Similar to CRK passengers, MNL passengers were mostly female, with an average age of 19-37 years old. Majority of the respondents were Filipinos residing in Metro Manila, which can be attributed to the accessibility factor of NAIA. Most of the arriving foreign passengers stayed with their family/relatives’ place during their visit. On the average, majority of the arriving respondents stayed in the country within one month to a year.

            In terms of occupation, almost half of the respondents were OFWs – consistent with the findings in the CRK survey. They typically travel due to VFR, and with not more than two (2) flying companions. Moreover, the survey results showed that most passengers were earning a monthly salary within the Php 25,000 to 34,999 bracket. In addition, majority of the respondents have visited Middle East and Singapore.

            Due to quality of service being offered, most of the passengers preferred a budget/low cost airline and economy fare class. For the past five years, majority of the passengers reported once or twice average frequency of travel via all airports per year. In terms of medium of information, the internet plays a huge role as most of the passengers have chosen the airline’s websites as their main source of flight information.

            While most of the passengers used private vehicles to/from MNL, many considered availing the express bus service, if available in their respective areas. Moreover, it was also observed that passengers were motivated to travel in MNL due to travel cost promotions.