A NEW international hotel brand has recently opened in Mandaue City as tourism in Cebu Province continues to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 142-room Fairfield by Marriott Cebu Mandaue City is now open to accept leisure and business travelers. The nine-story hotel tower is the first Fairfield brand establishment in Cebu.
The hotel is located along A.C. Cortes Avenue, Ibabao-Estancia, Mandaue City.
Joseph Michael Yu, business development director of Prestigio Inc., said the hotel targets the so-called “balance seekers” who “desire a comfortable, uncomplicated hotel experience with a focus on productivity and sleeping well.”
Fairfield, Marriott’s original brand, draws inspiration from J. Willard Marriott’s vacation home, the Fairfield Farm, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
Amid the presence of branded hotels in Metro Cebu, Yu said they want to be the “best business hotel in Cebu that delivers trusted, seamless and optimistic services to its guests.” The hotel features three event rooms.
“We are optimistic given that Covid-19 pandemic is well behind us, the industry is poised to reach and even exceed 2019 levels,” said Yu.
5 million arrivals
The Department of Tourism announced that it surpassed its foreign arrivals count of 4.8 million tourists pegged for the year as international arrivals reached 5.070 million as of Dec. 12, contributing P439.5 billion in receipts.
Of this number, 4,658,123 or 91.88 percent were foreign tourists, while the remaining 411,629 or 8.12 percent were overseas Filipinos.
South Korea was the country’s top source market with 1,341,029 arrivals, followed by the United States of America with 836,694; Japan with 285,655; China with 252,171; and Australia with 238,487.
Completing the top 10 were Canada with 206,571 arrivals, followed by Taiwan with 186,140, United Kingdom with 141,516, Singapore with 140,633, and Malaysia with 92,383.
Meanwhile, according to Colliers 2024 Outlook developers and stakeholders should maximize opportunities from public and private sectors’ initiatives to attract more domestic and foreign travelers.
“In our view, the DOT’s push to boost domestic tourism and the recovery in foreign arrivals should stoke demand in the country’s leisure sector and lift hotel occupancies and daily rates,” the report stated.
It added that the leisure sector should also benefit from the development and improvement of infrastructure projects such as airports and roads. We believe that these public projects should provide opportunities for developers to build more hotels and Mice or meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions facilities in emerging tourist spots across the country.