SOME 3,000 additional hotel rooms will be opened in the Visayas soon, Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano said yesterday.
Durano told reporters during the 2nd Tourism Jobs Fair at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) yesterday that three hotel chains are planning to put up facilities in Cebu, Boracay, Bohol and Palawan.
He said these will be “relevant and sellable” rooms with international three-star to five-star quality.
Durano also revealed that with the presence of a convention center near it, the SM group wants to finish the idle hotel building on its property this year.
Close by
Durano said the SM group is eyeing to complete the hotel after the completion of its expansion project in SM City Cebu in the North Reclamation Area.
“There will now be a hotel close by,” he added.
Earlier, the SM group already expressed interest in completing the hotel after the Mall of Asia in Manila, which opened in May last year.
The SM group of companies, in partnership with Sheraton Hotel, built a hotel building next to the SM City Cebu mall but the hotel remains closed, though, after the partnership between SM and Sheraton soured.
International
Durano said the three hotel and resort chains that are putting up facilities in the Visayas include Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, Raffles Hotels and Resorts and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Banyan Tree is found in Thailand, Indonesia, China, Maldives, China and Seychelles while Raffles Hotels are found in destinations like Singapore, Beverly Hills, Beijing and Cambodia. (CYR)
