RP eyes piece of Korea's $1.22-B real estate market

The Philippines is looking at getting a piece of the $1.22-billion Korean real estate market as it recently participated in South Korea’s International Property and Investment Show (IPIS).

The Department of Tourism (DOT), through its marketing arm, the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corp. (PCVC), launched recently the “Live Your Dream” campaign to promote to foreigners the idea of investing in a second home in the Philippines.

 “To compete with other countries also hoping to get a big piece of foreign investments in their respective property sectors, the country needs to underscore what’s in store for foreigners here in the Philippines,” Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano said.

 “We have to tell them about our tropical island paradise where they will enjoy the company of a friendly populace, pristine beaches, rich nature with exotic species, as well as a vibrant night life teeming with all sorts of entertainment - a dream lifestyle, so to speak,” he added.

Firms that participated in the fair are DMCI Homes, Federal Land Inc., Fil-Estate Urban Dev’t Corp., Megaworld Corp., Phil. BXT Corp., Robinson’s Land Corp., and State Properties Corp. The Philippine Retirement Authority was also represented.

Undersecretary for Tourism Planning and Promotions Eduardo Jarque Jr. said, promoting property investments among foreign tourists and expatriates is one way by which the department seeks to increase receipts from tourism activities in the country.

Aside from increasing the number of days of stay in the country, encouraging foreigners to buy permanent homes in the Philippines also tends to increase frequency of visits in the country, Jarque pointed out.

He said IPIS 2008 is the ideal venue for the campaign’s first overseas run because the Korean market has always expressed interest in the Philippines, with Koreans being among the country’s list of most frequent visitors.

In the first IPIS held last year also in Seoul, the Philippines ranked second, next to the US, as the most inquired nation among the exhibition’s thousands of visitors comprising serious property investors and/or home buyers mainly from Korea.