Wednesday, August 15, 2007 Hotel to build 98 rooms
WITH Cebu becoming a business destination, owners of Marco Polo Plaza Hotel want to cash in on the arrival of company executives who will be staying in the city for weeks or months on official trips.
Marco Polo Plaza Hotel Cebu general manager Hans Hauri yesterday said there are preliminary plans for the hotel expansion to open in March next year.
The expansion will result in 98 studio-type rooms that are appropriate for long-staying guests like corporate officials on business-related trips, said Hauri.
He said this would be a “temporary alleviation to pressure for more rooms” in Cebu and may be considered part of residential tourism, an industry segment referring to long-staying visitors.
The 98 rooms will be housed in the low-rise building adjacent to the Marco Polo Plaza where Bai disco and FM radio station Y101 used to be.
Hauri said in an interview following the 888 News Forum at Marco Polo Plaza that the hotel owner does not have to build a new building as the existing structure is “still sound.”
He expressed hope, though, that Federal Land Inc. (FLI) — the real estate arm of the Metrobank Group, owner of the Marco Polo Plaza — will build a condominium tower within the compound at Nivel Hills.
FLI is reportedly developing its 10.5-hectare property in Fort Bonifacio, Manila with an investment of at least P20 billion.
The project will include a five-star hotel, which will also be managed by Marco Polo, office buildings and retail establishments, FLI president Alfred Ty earlier said.
Hauri described the tourism in Cebu as being in an “exciting phase” with Marco Polo Plaza enjoying “unprecedented growth rates.”
He also said he expects more tourists to come to Cebu with the opening of more international flights.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority welcomed last month the inaugural flight of a chartered flight from Shanghai, China while announcing future direct flights between the Chinese city and Cebu.
DOT 7 Director Patria Aurora Roa said tourism department also expects more Indian and Russian tourists as it increases marketing efforts in Russia and India.
Roa said the DOT will be participating in a travel fair in Moscow next month to promote the Philippines.
The DOT also has a promotions and marketing representative in India, she added.
Benito Bengzon Jr., Tourism Coordination Office director and DOT Team Japan head, said the country, especially Cebu, will also be attracting more Japanese tourists.
This, as DOT increases its promotional programs on selected Japanese target markets: women in their 20s and 30s; active seniors in their 50s and 60s; and underwater divers.
Despite a tremendous increase in the number of Korean tourists, Bengzon said the Japanese remains to be a “steady and more lucrative” market.
According to DOT Cebu data, 115,000 Koreans arrived in Cebu between January and June this year compared to only 66,817 Japanese.
Compared to January to June 2006 figures, Korean tourists grew by about 58 percent while Japanese arrivals went up by almost 15 percent in the first six months of this year. (LAP)
