Saturday, November 03, 2007 DOT expects 20T rooms to open in RP, 5T in Cebu before 2012
THE Department of Tourism (DOT) is optimistic that the country will have more than 20,000 hotel rooms before 2012 to cope with the expected increase in tourist arrivals.
Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano said that in central Philippines alone, he expects the number of hotel rooms to soon reach 5,000.
The Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu reported in 2006 that its hotel-members have a total of about 2,000 rooms.
Durano said Metro Manila is projected to have 3,000 additional rooms before 2012.
“The demand for three to five-star hotel accommodations, especially in Cebu, is so huge. That is the biggest challenge of the tourism industry here. But I am confident that Cebu will be able to address this problem,” he said.
“Cebu and the rest of Central Philippines has what it takes to become a truly world-class tourist destination. Only that it will take time before you see these hotels opening,” he said in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu. “(But) I’m sure more players will come in the next few years.”
Durano said Cebu will need 10,000 rooms to 15,000 rooms before 2012 because local hotels are now hitting 80 percent to 85 percent occupancy.
Earlier, he announced that 3,000 more hotel rooms will be available in the Visayas. Of the 3,000 rooms, about 1,000 will be in Cebu, he added.
Big ticket hotels and resort projects to open in Cebu include the P3-billion Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa by Philippine BXT Corp., the SM-developed Sofitel
Hotel and Microtel Inns and Suites.
3 more
Durano said three other international hotel and resort chains plan to set up facilities in the Visayas, namely the Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, Raffles Hotels and Resorts, and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Banyan Tree Hotels are found in Thailand, Indonesia, China, Maldives, China and Seychelles. Raffles Hotels are found in destinations like Singapore, Beverly Hills (California), Beijing and Cambodia.
This means that for Visayas alone, 3,000 “relevant and saleable” rooms of international three-star to five-star quality will open soon, Durano said.
Imperial Palace, envisioned to be a five-star hotel and resort, will sit on 7.5-hectare property in Lapu-Lapu City. It is scheduled to open in 2009.
It is being developed by Philippine BXT Corp., which is owned and operated by Korean stakeholders, who tapped the services of Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul to run and manage the resort.
The world class resort will have 616 rooms in six medium-rise and three low-rise buildings. There will also be 40 single-units complete with amenities.
International budget hotel chain Microtel Inns and Suites Philippines, on the other hand, is planning to put up a 150-room hotel in Cebu City and another one in Mactan.
The hotels are expected to open next year.
The 400-room SM hotel, which will be managed by European hotel operator Accor under the Sofitel brand, will be inaugurated this year. (MMM)
