IT WAS a coffee talk one afternoon, and the group lingered not to discuss the oil crisis, but the country’s tourism—and an airport parking issue. The engineer sat with a tour guide and a hotelier friend from the region.
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“There is an issue regarding the alleged exorbitant increase in parking fees at the Bacolod-Silay Airport’s open parking grounds—facilities built by the government when the new airport in Silay City opened. From the start, the parking rate was forty pesos for waiting passengers and two hundred pesos for overnight parking; even then, travelers already found the overnight fee excessive. Take note that all those parking their cars are airline passengers who are already paying terminal and airport fees,” the engineer began.
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“For many years now, the airport has been earning revenue from those government-owned parking grounds—but where has all that money gone? At a conservative estimate of 100 vehicles parked overnight, that’s an easy 20,000 pesos in gross earnings. At times, it even looks like there are nearly 200 cars. Yet the official receipts issued by the parking attendants come from a private company,” the hotelier pointed out.
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“I recall that the airport opened during Gloria’s presidency. The revenue generated from parking fees alone could have bought a mansion, a beach resort, or even funded a subdivision or a factory. It seems unfair that airline passengers are made to pay excessive fees when the operator appears to shoulder only minimal manpower costs, at least from what we can see,” the tour guide added.
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“Oh, and worse — when it rains and you park your car, they do not even provide an umbrella to courteously escort you to the terminal. Another glaring lapse is the absence of basic assistance tools like an air compressor or a tire jack in case of emergencies. It’s simply money going into someone’s pocket. But where have all the millions gone? Well, perhaps that’s none of our business,” the engineer said.
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“But all hell broke loose, my friends, when the airport agency announced a new rate of 25 pesos per hour. It sounds cheaper than the original forty pesos — until you compute it. A 24-hour stay would now cost 600 pesos, which is a staggering 300 percent increase from the long-standing 200-peso overnight rate. My God, does the government have no heart for travelers?” the tour guide said angrily.
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“The government seems to have lost its heart, indeed. With fuel prices rising, the airport agency should instead consider lowering the rate — perhaps to 100 pesos overnight — and even waiving parking fees for those picking up passengers, at least for a maximum of three hours. That would be more reasonable,” the engineer quipped as he sipped his Americano.
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“Well, I don’t know how strongly the politicians of Silay and Bacolod will push for a reduction in parking fees. Do any of them truly care? After all, they have drivers to drop them off and pick them up. The ordinary Filipino, as always, becomes the sacrificial lamb,” the hotelier said.
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“People often blame the tourism agency for the low number of tourists visiting the country. But this is just one example — a parking facility built with taxpayers’ money, yet travelers are still charged fees without clear accountability as to where the money goes. There seems to be no mercy at all. So do not expect tourism to thrive under these conditions. With taxi drivers and van rentals also charging unreasonably, we might as well resign ourselves to just six million tourists a year,” the engineer concluded.
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“Let’s have coffee — and ice cream — again next time, and talk about the state of tourism in this sometimes kenkoy country of ours,” the tour guide said, ending their coffee session./PN
