Panglao, El Nido see tourist influx

Panglao in Bohol, El Nido in Palawan and Siargao in Surigao del Norte in Mindanao are attracting more tourists and subsequently the investment interest of  international hotel brands, according to Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) director for hotels, tourism and leisure Alfred Lay.

In a recent briefing for members of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association, Lay revealed that the top five tourist destinations in the country are Bohol (41 percent), Metro Manila (39 percent), Cebu (36 percent), Siargao (36 percent) and El Nido (34 percent).

However, according to Lay, international hotel brand chains are still optimistic that as the country continues to grow, demand will return.

At the same time, he said, attention is also shifting to third-tier destinations which include Tuguegarao, Laoag, San Fernando, Tarlac City and Batangas where international hotel brands are keen to invest in new tourist accommodations.

While LPC is not expecting to see a significant influx of foreign tourists to the country due to the  recession being felt globally, it does see domestic tourists making up for the slack.

According to Lay, certain destinations such as Panglao in Bohol, El Nido in Palawan and Siargao in Surigao seem to be the current favorite destinations for a couple of reasons while old favorites like Cebu and Boracay are facing some issues.

Tourists may be shifting more to Bohol than Boracay, Lay explained, due to accessibility and more convenient logistics as gleaned from their research. Bohol visitors, he said, are likely to get to their hotel/resort within 30 minutes of arrival at the airport compared to a trip to Boracay.

Based on data gathered by LPC and from the Philippine Hotel Owners Association, there has been a steady increase of foreign tourist arrivals in Bohol, facilitated by 36 international flights weekly from South Korea.

Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia are planning to add international and domestic flights to Bohol in the coming months.

On the other hand, Lay said, visitors to Boracay could spend as much as two hours before they get to their accommodation as they have to first deal with paying for the environmental fee, then they have to catch a boat to get to the island, and then get an e-trike to get to their hotel.

Unfortunately, Lay said, “that’s quite a number of steps and a little bit painful when the average length of stay is quite short...those few hours mean quite a bit.” The local government, Lay suggested, should “continue to market and improve the experience in the island,” acknowledging that Boracay remains to be a premiere tourist destination.

El Nido in Palawan, the LPC director said, “has changed in the last 18 to 24 months, the  people are there... all issues have been addressed. Prior to the pandemic, there were  150,000 to 200,000 arrivals a year. Now there are 500,000 arrivals.

Ayala-owned Air Swift, according to Lay, wants  to increase their flight frequency, “but they don’t have enough airplanes. They have ordered them...but they also cannot get slots from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.”

The STAR had previously reported that Air Swift and the Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific Air Inc. are in talks for a possible acquisition.

Cebu, on the other hand, Lay revealed, appears to be suffering from “lingering negative sentiments. Cebu has not quite recovered as well as Metro Manila. It has been reliant on MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) business which has not come back to Cebu. It has come back to Metro Manila and Clark.”

This, despite the fact that in Lay’s opinion, “Mactan is the best airport in the country.”

Cebu, Lay added, had been “reliant also on Chinese arrivals…MICE a little unsure what is happening in that space… traffic situation has gotten markably worse...busier and busier..if you have not been there in the last five years it has totally changed.”

Lay noted that “because of the very fragmented nature of Cebu City, it’s actually becoming very hard to get from one place to another…you need to go from one place to another. Unlike in Metro Manila  you can go to Makati and everything you need is there...same in Ortigas and Manila Bay…”

Cebu, Lay said, “does not have that same set up. You need to get in a car to get around, causing some issues.” Fortunately, Cebu City’s traffic problem does not relate to Mactan which is  “having a good year…excellent occupancy and ADR (average daily rate)…gateway for Korean tourist, Korean families. Plenty of resorts with excellent water sports, and  cheap to get there,” he added.

The next positive thing for Cebu, Lay cited, “is the eventual opening of the Dennis Uy-owned Emerald Bay Casino Bay project…only casino in Mactan at that scale on the waterfront...only 15 to 20 minutes from airport... and you have Aruga, Sheraton, Movenpick, Dusit Thani, Shangrila, 1,000 Pullman Hotel rooms...as casino grows, we see a lot of international arrivals flooding back to Mactan.”

Siargao, on the other hand, is a favorite of international tourists with around 250,000 tourists arrivals per year. That number, LPC believes, could easily be double or three times higher “if it could have a terminal that could handle that number and a longer runway.”

According to Lay, “a 1,100-meter runway is ‘laughable’ and thus Siargao “needs a 1,800-meter runway that can handle a large aircraft.” Negotiations, he revealed, are underway to relocate the existing airport which can then have a 1,800-meter runway.