New accommodation projects to employ over 17 thousand

CEBU, Philippines - As 57 new accommodation facilities start operating in two years time, 17,782 jobs will also be generated from these investments.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) projected that the Philippines can provide additional 3,539 and 1,142 rooms in two years, as the 57 new accommodation facilities start operating.

By the end of 2010, new accommodation facilities totaling 80 are expected to have opened, increasing the available rooms in selected destinations by 3,743.

According to the report, Cebu will account for 61 percent or 2,291 rooms, followed by Metro Manila with 605 rooms and Palawan with 407 rooms.

Because of strong interest of investors to put in tourism related projects in Cebu, the province also recorded the most number of regular personnel at 11,400 persons or 24 percent while Metro Manila has the biggest count of seasonal employees at 4,931 or 10 percent of the total employment in the nine destinations.

Seven destinations in the Central Philippines Super Region as well as Metro Manila and Tagaytay City recorded a total number of 2,343 accommodation facilities providing 65,052 available rooms, based on the survey conducted by the DOT in the first semester of 2010. 

These establishments directly employed 46,048 persons with 78 percent being regular personnel and 22 percent seasonal employees.

In an earlier interview with former DOT secretary Ace Durano, he said that what helps Cebu and other tourism hotspots in the Philippines provide improved tourism facilities and accommodation is the strong confidence of local investors to support the robust growth of tourism industry.

“There is a growing number of Filipino hotel brands now. In Cebu, quite a lot are investing into hotels, resorts, or condo-tels,” Durano said.

Durano mentioned that there is a local investor who is going to build a P300 million, 90-room hotel in Cebu, the Harold’s Hotel. He said the investor is going to start the construction “hopefully this year.”

The Filinvest’s latest project the Grand Cenia, will also provide additional of 50-condotel-room for Cebu, also the Lua Group’s under-construction hotel also being built near the Cebu Business Park (CBP).

The Elizabeth Hotel, now being built also near the CBP is also targeted to be opened this year, Durano said.

“More Filipino-owned hotels are now being built, in Cebu, in Bohol, and other parts of the country,” he said.

Durano said these under-construction hotels, or those that are being planned are mostly Filipino-led projects.

“In the past foreign investors were leading in developing hotels, and resorts in the Philippines. Now, Filipinos have strong confidence to invest in the tourism sector,” he stressed.

He also mentioned the near opening of Radisson Hotel, developed by SM Prime Holdings, which also add more world-class hotel room accommodations for Cebu.

Although, these hotel investors are smaller compared to foreign hotel/resort projects, Durano said the value of new hotel projects are bigger if combined than the few foreign investments.