A TOURISM school, a retirement village and more rooms are part of San Remigio Beach Club’s (SRBC) expansion plan within the next three years.

This was disclosed by the sports and leisure resort’s president Antonio Ynoc during the second anniversary celebration of its restaurant Cafe Gloria last Saturday.

This multi-million investment plan was fueled by the demand for manpower and facilities in the tourism industry, he said.

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Ynoc is planning to work with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority; Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu; and the Rotary Club of Cebu Port Center, and put up a small academy under the Antonio D. Ynoc Foundation within SRBC’s 7.5-hectare property in Barangay Tambongon, San Remigio.

The tourism academy will teach vocational courses to high school graduates in San Remigio for at least six months. These courses will be related to tourism such as English proficiency, cooking, bartending and housekeeping.

“San Remigio Beach Club will serve as a training ground for them. These trainees will also be able to augment our manpower,” Ynoc told Sun.Star Cebu.

Once the students have completed their courses, they have the option to continue their studies in Cebu City where Ynoc plans to convert a 1,500-square-meter truck yard into a dormitory for them.

SRBC, whose mother company is Prime Movers Holdings Group, is also planning to acquire another hectare of land adjacent to the resort to put up a retirement village, with a separate entrance.

Increasing occupancy

This is to cater to the needs of the retiree market, especially from Japan, said Ynoc.

Apart from a school and a facility for retirees, SRBC will also feature soon a spa overlooking the sea, another infinity pool, a business center and around 100 more rooms.

At present, the resort that started operations in 2002 has 50 rooms. Last March, it opened two convention centers and four dormitory rooms to cater to educational and corporate events.

“We want to be a one-stop resort where our guests can have everything they need in terms of facilities and recreational activities,” said SRBC assistant operations manager Henry Hans Po in a separate interview.

While the resort felt the effects of the global financial crisis in the second quarter this year, Po noted that its occupancy rate is now picking up from 50 percent in August to 90 percent last month.

Management is optimistic about next year, with three travel agencies intensively promoting SRBC and with the opening of SRBC’s office in Cebu City this month.

Ynoc said the four-storey Prime Movers Building sits on a 1,000-square-meter area along Holy Name St., Mabolo, Cebu City. It will be finished by January 2010.

It will feature the SRBC office, 15 guestrooms, a conference room and a restaurant. It will provide bed and bath accommodations for SRBC guests and for the field engineers of Prime Movers Express Forwarding and Freightage Corp. clients.