Local developer partners with Japanese hotel chain

CEBU, Philippines- A local real estate developer has partnered with one of Japan’s largest hotel chains for a 583-room accommodation project in Mandaue City.

Everjust Realty Development Corp., and Toyoko Inn targets to open a business hotel in JCenter in Mandaue by next year.

ERDC president Justin Uy said the strong recovery of the Japanese tourist market in Cebu prompted the company to partner with a Japanese hotel chain.

In February last year, top executives of the Toyoko chain of hotels and Everjust  Realty officially signed the Memorandum of Agreement for the partnership at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. Under the agreement the new hotel building in Mandaue City will be leased to Toyoko Inn Group for 25 years.

As of 2012, it has 238 hotels in Japan and six in Korea.

Meanwhile, simultaneous with Everjust Realty's project with the first Toyoko Inn in Cebu, Uy said the company is also investing further  on growing its other portfolio— hotel, office and condominium towers in Mandaue City.

Everjust Realty will also embark on a simultaneous construction of the second tower that will house offices and apartelle spaces and three condo towers next year.

According to Uy, the planned condo project is in partnership with another Japanese investor. Each tower is initially designed to have 30 floors each with 200 condo units per tower.

Uy said the company is eager to forge partnership with Japanese investors because Japan is the next big market to tap after Korea.

Improved connectivity with the presence of more direct flights between Cebu to key cities in Japan is also an added advantage to boost business partnership with Japanese investors.

In the next couple of years, Japanese tourists to Central Visayas, particularly Cebu, is seen to overtake the lead of Korean nationals visiting or staying in the region for long term.

Department of Tourism (DOT-7) regional director Rowena Montecillo said that the region is now seeing an influx of Japanese tourists, who do not only come for vacation or leisure but also to learn English.

Because of this, Montecillo said there is a possibility that Japanese tourists will take over the number one position of Korean nationals as top foreign tourists to the region.

"There is a plateau in Korean arrivals to the region in the recent months. Maybe, their interest has diverted to other islands and provinces in the Philippines," said Montecillo.

Japanese arrivals on the other hand is strongly catching up, mainly also due to increased direct flight access from Japan to Cebu, she said. (FREEMAN)