Upcoming Hotels and Resorts in the Philippines 1

Major tourism investments bared

About PhP30 billion is being invested by the private sector in the tourism sector, strengthening the industry’s claim to be a new engine of growth for the economy, according to a report by BusinessMirror.

While the bulk of the investments is in Metro Manila, there are a rising number of investments in key tourism destinations such as Davao del Sur, Cebu, Zambales, South Cotobato, Benguet, Pampanga and Palawan.

“For 2013 alone, we will have 12,500 rooms additionally nationwide. About 6,000 of those rooms would be in Manila by the end of the year,” said Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.

Secretary Jimenez, however, said there would still be a gap of some 20,000 rooms by 2016.  Among the newly opened hotels and resorts this year are the Fairmont Makati, Solaire Resort & Casino in Pasay City, Balesin Island Club in Aurora, Islands Hotel in Puerto Princesa and Park Inn by Radisson in Davao.

Based on the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) of 2010-2016, the private sector is expected to invest some PhP192 billion in hotels, resorts, leisure-entertainment-shopping, health and wellness, convention and event/exhibitions, as well as cruise and transportation facilities.

To encourage these investments, the government will be pouring in some PhP74 billion in infrastructure, tourist-site improvement and marketing support.

Data from the DTI show that investments in new tourism accommodations and facilities have been steadily increasing the past three years. From 16 projects costing PhP3.9 billion in 2010, registered tourism projects jumped to 21 with a total estimated project cost of PhP12.88 billion. In 2012 there were 22 registered tourism investments, although the estimated total cost of these projects fell slightly to PhP12.7 billion.

Among the largest projects registered over the three-year period were located in Metro Manila, such as SM Investment Corp.’s Mall of Asia Arena with an estimated project cost of P3.2 billion with 18,000 seats; Xian Ti Development Corp.’s Marco Polo Hotel in Pasig City (PhP2.6 billion for 313 rooms); Araneta Centre Hotel Inc.’s Novotel Manila in Quezon City (PhP2.5 billion, 399 rooms); Greenhaven Property Ventures Inc.’s Holiday Inn and Suites in Makati City (PhP1.97 billion, 347 rooms); Filinvest Land Inc.’s Entrata Hotel in Alabang, Muntinlupa (PhP1.92 billion, 345 rooms); Willmson Inc.’s Ascott Bonifacio Global City (PhP1.56 billion, 220 rooms); and Providence Hospital Inc.’s medical-tourism facility in Quezon City (PhP1.22 billion, 500 beds).

New hotels and resorts

More property developers are venturing into the hotel business and expanding their leisure product line to ride on the booming tourism sector, according to a report by Interaksyon.com.

Local developers are more inclined to invest in the hotel sector this time amid the government's “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” tourism campaign, according to property consultants.

"Developers are bullish about the tourism sector because of the increasing figures on foreign tourist arrivals," said Mr. Claro Cordero, Jones Lang Lasalle head of research, consultancy and valuation.

Hotel construction is seen to pick up with the Philippine capital doubling the existing 15,000 rooms in the next four to five years, said Mr. Karlo Pobre, research analyst for consultancy and valuation services at Colliers International Philippines.

Majority of the upcoming supply will be at the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp’s (Pagcor) Entertainment City, which will soon be home to four world-class integrated hotel and casino facilities.

The Philippines recently scored its first investment grade credit rating from Fitch Ratings and expectations are ripe that Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s will follow soon.

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. is leading the pack in tourism expansion with the doubling of its hotel room portfolio to 4,000 by 2015. The real estate firm is developing an affordable hotel brand and going upscale with the development of Seda Suites.

Aside from putting up hotels, ALI plans to build more tourism estates in the Visayas. The company already operates the 300-hectare El Nido island resort complex in Palawan.

"The tourism sector is expected to be one of the engines of growth of the Philippine economy. The strategy and direction is we’re completely aligned with the economic indicators that are very positive. We see tourism will be a growth driver for the country," said ALI president Antonino Aquino.

The SM group is adding 1,000 rooms to its portfolio with five hotels under the Park Inn by Radisson brand in the next five years. The Henry Sy-led conglomerate is also bringing luxury brand Conrad Hotels & Resorts in the Philippines by mid-2015 with the 350-room Conrad Manila rising at the 42-hectare SM Bay City development.

Travellers International Hotel Group Inc, a joint venture between Alliance Global Group Inc and Genting group, is set to commence the third phase of Resorts World Manila, comprising two new hotels under the Sheraton and Hilton brands as well as the expansion of the existing Maxims and Marriott hotels.

Phinma Corp is also bullish on the tourism sector with plans to expand its hotel network under the Microtel brand to 25 units by 2015 from the existing 10 hotels.

Century Properties Group Inc., the developer of the branded residential projects like Trump Tower and Milano Residences, is the latest to venture into the hotel business.

Resurgence of luxury hotel industry

The Philippines experiences a surge in investments, particularly in the high-end luxury sector of its hospitality market, according to a report by Philippine Daily Inquirer.  Hotel industry consulting firm C9 Hotelworks, in a recent report, said escalating room rates and strong occupancy rates are also setting the stage for “dramatic future growth” of the sector.

“Step back in time three decades and hotel headlines would be surprisingly similar to those today,” C9 Hotelworks managing director Bill Barnett said.  “Manila Bay is asserting itself as a tourism hub in Metro Manila, [while] a new business district flexes its muscles within the competitive hotel landscape.”

He noted, however, some key differences between the hotel boom of the present day and that of the past.  “This time around it is Manila Bay, featuring the evolution of Pagcor Entertainment City and Resorts World, while the new central business district is not Makati, but neighbouring Bonifacio City,” he said. “This is the new storyboard of Mega Manila.”

C9 Hotelworks’ report points to an aggressive pipeline of growth and investment in the luxury sector, with a total of 5,797 rooms opening in the upper tier of the market over the next five years. This represents a growth of 37 percent to existing supply.

These new hotels will include the introduction, expansion or return of internationally renowned brands such as Raffles, Fairmont, Grand Hyatt, Shangri-La, Sheraton and Westin.

C9 Hotelworks’ hospitality research noted that overall average room rates already rose 6 percent in 2011, while occupancy of luxury accommodation stood at 72 percent during the same period.

In 2011, Metro Manila had a total of 15,567 hotel rooms, with 57 percent of these being in the upscale tier.  “Suddenly, there is now significant movement at the top end of the market where luxury supply grew at only 3.2 percent between 2004 and 2011,” it said.