Taoyuan International Airport Requires Tourism Marketing

Taoyuan International Airport Requires Tourism Marketing
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
February 23, 2010

A nation's international airport is its front door. Foreign visitors receive their first impression of a nation through its airport. Their last impression of a nation is also of its airport. Building technology on Taiwan may be advanced. But in many respects the Republic of China's front door is far from satisfactory.

International competition is fierce. It is like sailing against the wind. Failure to advance amounts to retreat. Other countries are progressing by leaps and bounds. If we merely mark time, we will soon be left behind. This is true for both airport facilities and airport services. Governments everywhere are scrambling to create a positive image of their country, by putting on their best face. But the Republic of China has been negligent. Its front door is tasteless and bland. The impression it leaves is negative.

Today the Airports Council International (ACI) made public its 2009 Airport Service Quality Awards. Asian countries shone. The top five airports were Seoul Incheon International Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, and Hyderabad Rajiv Ghandi International Airport. Incheon International Airport has come in first for five consecutive years. Changi and Chek Lap Kok Airport have also been leaders. They must be given credit for their international acclaim.

Now let's look at our own Taoyuan International Airport. In 2007 it ranked 14th. In 2008 it fell to 18th. In 2009 it plummeted to 27th. This is disgraceful and humiliating. Why are certain leading international airports always paragons? Taoyuan is the front door to one of Asia's Four Tigers. When even Beijing and Hyderabad are catching up, why is Taoyuan falling behind? The numbers do not lie, and warrant our attention.

Travelers who have visited the aforementioned Asian cities immediately notice the difference, the most obvious difference being popularity. Incheon, Changi, and Chek Lap Kok are popular. They are filled with a wide variety of passengers of different ethnic backgrounds and skin colors, wearing different kinds of clothing. The restaurants overflow with diners. The gift shops overflow with customers. The impression conveyed is one of cutting edge international metropolises, bubbling with dynamism.

Airline security measures, transfers, transiting, and customs clearance are often time consuming. Families loaded down with large and small packages find the experience especially burdensome. Passengers are often stuck at airports for a long time. If the facilities and services are well thought out, the impression it leaves will be dramatic. Word of mouth will spread.

Not every international airport makes the grade. But good airports leave visitors with long-lasting, positive impressions. Some have spacious and comfortable lounge areas, smoking areas, and rest rooms. Some have internet services indispensable to the modern traveler. Some airports understand the needs of transit passengers. They provide showers, hair salons, and leisure facilities, allowing the weary traveler to recuperate. Some provide locally themed restaurants and shops attractive to international travelers.

Taoyuan International Airport, by contrast, is in many respects rather rudimentary. The restaurants are unimpressive, both in quantity and quality. They fail to showcase Taiwan's rich cuisine, and the prices range from excessive to outrageous. The shops lack local color. The terminal building lacks style, both inside and outside. It lacks an overall concept. It fails to provide the services consumers expect and need. Even the handcarts are difficult to use. Travelers are feel alienated and out in the cold. Add to this inconvenient transportation links to the outside world. The Taoyuan Airport and other domestic airports lack connections to local MRT systems. In short, Taoyuan is not an airport befitting an international city.

Other international airports are boldly designed and intelligently operated. By contrast, our tired administrative practices are clearly behind the times. Given existing practices, any breakthrough is unlikely. Therefore international airport operations should be placed under the auspices of the central government. Both the "software" and the "hardware" for the Taoyuan International Airport must be upgraded. Transportation must facilitate the marketing of local tourism, local culture, and other tourist resources. Ways must be found to transform Taiwan into an Asian transportation hub. The upgrading of airport services is merely one link in this chain.

A unified effort is required because Taoyuan International Airport lacks patronage. A lack of patronage increases operating costs. To overcome this problem requires greater government support, at least initially. In the long term however, what is required is a bold and farsighted national marketing plan. Dressing up the nation's front door will require more than just a coat of paint.

It will require higher level decision-making. High-level decision-makers must realize the importance of this issue. Taoyuan International Airport's ranking has been falling steadily. The central government must realize that this is not about Taoyuan Airport alone.

中時電子報 新聞
中國時報 　2010.02.23
社論－結合觀光行銷 桃園機場才不會輸人
本報訊

國際機場就像一個國家的大門，外來客接觸到這個國家的第一印象，就是從機場開始；而對這個國家的最後印象，便是離開機場的經驗。無論台灣內部建設得多進步，現在的國家大門，有許多環節實在無法令人滿意。

激烈的國際競爭宛如逆水行舟，不進則退。當其他國家突飛猛進的同時，我們如果還好整以暇原地踏步，那麼很快就會被甩到後頭去。國際機場的軟硬體建設亦復如此，當各國爭相打造光鮮進步的國家大門之際，台灣卻疏於打理門面以致於望之無味無趣，給人的第一印象先就差了。

「國際航站理事會」（ＡＣＩ）日前公布二○○九年全球服務品質最佳機場，亞洲國家表現亮眼，前五名分別是南韓仁川機場、新加坡樟宜機場、香港赤?角機場、北京機場和印度海得拉巴機場，尤其仁川機場已經是連續五年奪冠，樟宜與赤?角機場也是評比常勝軍，人家能享譽全球，真的有一套。

反觀台灣的桃園國際機場，二○○七年排名十四，二○○八年降至十八名，二○○九年更暴跌到廿七名，成績之遜真是令國人顏面無光。為什麼，幾個頂尖的國際機場總是模範生，連北京、印度的機場也後來居上，亞洲四小龍之一的台灣，排名卻節節倒退？數字不騙人，這其中，一定有值得我們痛切檢討的地方。

造訪過上述幾個亞洲城市的人，通常可以馬上感受到桃園國際機場和其他機場的差距。最明顯的是人氣，仁川、赤?角或樟宜機場人氣搶搶滾，各種種族、膚色、服裝的旅客熙來攘往，餐飲部門高朋滿座，精品店舖川流不息，給人一種充滿活力的國際尖端大都會的感覺。

其實搭機時安檢、轉機、過境、通關通常要耗費不少時間，大包小包攜家帶眷的人尤其麻煩，既然常常需要在機場待很久，其設備和服務是否周到貼心，旅客的感受就會很深刻，口碑也就逐漸傳出去了。

不是每個國際機場都做得好，但好的機場，會讓旅客留下長久的良好印象。有些機場有寬敞舒適的休息區、吸菸區或小憩室，還有現代人不可或缺的網路服務。有些機場體諒到過境旅客的需求，設置了淋浴、理容及休閒等設施，讓疲憊的旅客重新恢復元氣。而展現當地文化特色的餐飲及商店區，更是令旅客流連的地方。

比較之下，桃園國際機場在很多方面都相當陽春，餐飲部門無論是質還是量都乏善可陳，不要說沒能展現台灣的各種美食，價格還貴到離譜。商店部門也缺乏文化特色，航站內外的設計沒有風格。總而言之，整個國際機場的經營，好像沒有一個整體的概念，也不太能從消費者的角度出發提供貼心服務，連手推車都不好用，以致於旅客感覺既冷清又不和善。加上聯外交通不便，國際機場與國內機場至今沒有捷運相通，凡此種種，都稱不上一個國際大都會的格局。

和其他國際機場的用心與氣魄相比，我們習慣的老舊行政管理做法，顯然已經不合時宜也不敷所需了。以既有的運作方式，恐怕難以帶來突破，因此，對於國際機場的經營，政府應該考慮把決策層級拉高到中央。不只是加強桃園機場航站的硬體軟體而已，更要與地方觀光、文化行銷、爭取客源、便利交通等各方面緊密結合，研擬出一個讓台灣成為亞洲交通樞紐之一的總體規劃方案，而機場服務的強化，則是其中之一環。

之所以要全體動起來，是因為桃園國際機場很多問題是出在客源不足上，以致於人氣不旺經營成本增加。這個問題要克服，至少初期是需要政府更多支援；而長期來說，還是需要一個有遠景、有魄力、也有執行力的國家行銷規劃，才能讓國家門面神采煥發，而不只是粉飾一番罷了。

凡此種種，都需要比現在更高的決策層次，也需要決策高層體認到這個問題的重要性。當桃園機場排名一直掉的時候，中央政府應該體認到，這不只是桃園機場的問題而已。