By Jim Facette, president and CEO

The article below appears in the fall issue of ACI-NA's Centerlines Magazine

 

In Canada this year, the Canadian Airports Council has done a great deal of thinking about just how Canada's airports are doing our part for a strong Canada.  Because of the industry we are in, our role in international commerce is one of the biggest ways in which we are doing our part.

At first blush, the role of airports in international commerce is rather obvious.  We are the gateways to our communities, regions and indeed the nation for international trade and tourism.  But the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently examined how our impact on productivity and economic growth may be far greater than many believe.

In a June aviation economics briefing, IATA and InterVISTAS examined the importance of what it characterizes as "connectivity."  As we have long known anecdotally, they concluded that "Greater connections to the global air transport network can boost the productivity and growth of economies by providing better access to markets, enhancing links within and between businesses and providing greater access to resources and international capital markets."

Just how much of a boost?  The study takes a look at Vancouver International Airport and the five-year, CAD $1.8 billion investment in infrastructure and services that took place between 1995 and 2000.  This included the $506 million the expansion in airport capacity paid for largely by airport users, the resulting increase in air service by air carriers, and a $19 million air traffic control investment by the federal government.

The investment in Vancouver resulted in a 25% increase in connectivity for Vancouver and a 5.4% increase for Canada as a whole.  But more importantly, it also contributed to an increase in productivity responsible for a long-term boost to Canadian GDP of CAD $348 million a year - an annual economic rate of return of 19.3%.

Canada's place in international commerce is one currently being examined in depth by our federal government with its Strategic Gateway and Trade Corridor initiatives.  Most of the Gateway programs announced so far have been land and sea-based, but Canada's airports are interested in doing our part as well.

We agree with the government that success of the Gateway initiative "will depend on how well the key players - public and private - coalesce around a coherent vision."  

What that means in the aviation sector is a government/aviation sector partnership framed by domestic policies consistent with our shared vision of a competitive Canadian economy on the rapidly changing playing field of global commerce.

Greater access to international markets through liberalized air agreements helps Canadian communities that advantage of the increasing global opportunities for trade and tourism, such as growing markets in Asia.

Increased resources for the Canada Border Services Agency helps enhance border efficiency for goods and facilitates continued growth in international tourism. 

A less arduous financial environment, including reforms to airport rent, makes Canada more cost competitive with other countries as a hub for cargo and passengers.

These factors currently serve as yokes on Canada's connectivity, and accordingly have a negative impact on our productivity and global competitiveness.

The theme 'doing our part' is meant to demonstrate how airports contribute to a greater good.  When the industry takes a point of view it does so with the knowledge of how our actions fit in to a larger picture. 

As the voice of Canada's airports we will continue to be proactive in presenting not just how airports are doing their part, but also explaining the role of Canada's airports in the overall benefit of the country and its reputation around the world. 

Once again, several Canadian airports were among the 43 airport winners of Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA)'s 2007 Excellence in Marketing and Communications Contest.

First place winners included Edmonton Airports for its partnership with air carriers and Vancouver Airport Authority for its rebranding.

All Canadian airport winners include:

• Edmonton Airports
  1^st Place: Partnering with Carriers
  2^nd Place: Public Relations Campaigns

• Halifax International Airport Authority
  3^rd Place: Annual Reports

• John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (Ontario)
  3^rd Place: Public Relations Campaigns

• Ottawa International Airport Authority
  3^rd Place: Newsletters-External

• Vancouver International Airport
  1^st Place: Corporate Branding Campaigns

• Winnipeg International Airport
  2^nd Place: Customer Service Initiatives

ACI-NA President Greg Principato said, "As facilities where millions of passengers spend time daily, airports have an important responsibility to ensure that they are conveying the right messages to their customers and communities.  Our winners this year have done a spectacular job at clearly communicating their services."

In 2007, 73 airports and airport authorities submitted almost 300 entries in the contest, which encompasses categories that recognize work in marketing and public relations and provides airports the opportunity to be honored for the quality of their work.  The 2007 contest judges included 37 communications and marketing professionals who reviewed the entries over a 5-day period.

Award winners will be recognized at ACI-NA's 16^th Annual Conference & Exhibition in Kansas City, MO, Oct. 3, 2007, during the Chairman's Honors Luncheon

A new report from the Canadian Tourism Commission examines the decline in Japanese tourists to Canada -- with an eye to reversing the trend.

As outlined, the Japanese outbound market shrank in the early part of this decade.  It has begun to recover in earnest, climbing from 13.30 million trips in 2003 to 17.54 million in 2006.

However, travel to Canada from Japan reportedly has never recovered from its peak of 647,700 visitors ten years ago. An economic slowdown, world terrorism and SARS undermined travel throughout the past decade.

The CTC contends that since the 2003 SARS crisis the flow of visitors from Japan should have steadily recovered. However, it has not -remaining below 400,000 a year.  Eight key factors are cited:

• Destination Trends Toward Asia - The Japanese are travelling intra-Asia
  
• Canada Is Off The Radar Screen - Canada is simply not "hot" anymore
  
• Needs Are Changing - Move away from group tours to more independent travel
  
• Canada's Core Product Now Out of Date - A need to move away from "big nature" to individual and recreational offerings
  
• Canada's Current Market Reflects Its Image - Canada not appealing to the younger Japanese
  
• Canada Is Receiving Little Trade Support - Japanese tour retailers not pushing Canada.
  
• Lack of Airline Sensitivity - Reduced capacity and difficulty in negotiating affordable group rates
  
• Need For More Assertive Leadership - CTC in Japan needs to be more aggressive in its marketing efforts