By Paolo Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Fewer people traveled by sea within the country in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same period a year earlier, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) reported Thursday.
Data posted on its website showed that domestic sea passenger traffic fell to 9.32 million from July to September 2009, or by 2.44 percent from the 9.55 million passengers in the same period the year before.
The decline reversed the 1.6-percent year-on-year expansion in passenger traffic in the previous quarter.
Sea travel to the Northern Luzon and Metro Manila, where traffic was lightest, fell sharply by 17.6 percent to 343,742 passengers.
Travel to Southern Luzon areas likewise fell by five percent to 2.47 million people. The Visayas region, which once again posted the most number of passengers, had 3.23 million passengers in the period, or 3.5-percent lower than a year earlier.
Losses seen in these regions more than offset the 0.7-percent rise in travel to Northern Mindanao (to 1.96 million passengers) and 5.8-percent increase in Southern Mindanao (to 1.32 million passengers).
Sea travel has become less and less attractive to
most Filipino passengers who have over the years patronized budget airlines more and more.Linkback:
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