France backs: Phl bid to have EU ban lifted

CEBU, Philippines - The French Embassy to the Philippines will help negotiate in convincing the European Union (EU) to lift the ban against the Philippine carriers from European airspace.

French Ambassador to the Philippine Gille Garachon said in an interview last Thursday that the embassy is hopeful the ban will be lifted before the end of the first semester of this year or by June.

In April 2010, the 27-member European Commission decided to impose a ban on Philippine carriers from European airspace for the failure of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to reform the country’s civil aviation system.

“We are working very hard to have this ban lifted,” said Garachon.

According to Garachon, the Philippines has a big potential in attracting European tourists, including French travelers, because of its attractive beaches, diving destinations, food, rich culture and historical places, among others.

He hopes that once the ban will be lifted Philippine flag carriers like the Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air will be able to start off direct flights to and from European countries.

The French envoy added that because of the ban and lack of promotion from the Philippines to France, only few French people visited the country.

Last year, only 30 thousand French visited the Philippines.

The Philippines has diverse attraction and destinations that attract the French people, but he said the problem is most French travelers do not know yet about the Philippines, in general.

Thus, he suggested a  more aggressive marketing campaign should be started, specifically if the ban will be lifted.

On the other hand, the ambassador said because of the positive economic performance of the Philippines, of which some French capitalists are aware of, interest in investing in tourism-related projects, infrastructure fashion and food are increasing.

In infrastructure, he said French companies are looking at venturing or participating into the transport sector such as railways and related projects.

There are also some French investors that are looking at investing into hotel and tourism-related establishments, anticipating the country’s potentials to grow in the tourism sector.

“The Philippines is developing very fast,” said Garachon adding that foreign direct investments are needed in order to support the growth of the country.

Meanwhile, the ambassador added that both countries are now also working to increase its trade exchanges, while trade volume is pretty limited.

“We are looking at doubling the trade volume between two countries in the next two years,” he said. —/JMD (FREEMAN)