[ Malaya.com.ph ] November 7, 2008
By IRMA ISIP
SAN FERNANDO, La Union. - Panama-based Thunderbird Resorts, Inc., an international property developer of themed parks with casinos, is investing an estimated $120 million over the next three years to expand its Poro Point and Binangonan, Rizal complexes.
Alain Richard, hospitality manager for both Thunderbird resorts, said the company is spending $300,000 per room to construct 168 rooms at Thunderbird Poro Point, bringing up to 200 the total number of rooms.
Thunderbird has been in operation for six months in Poro Point and now operates 36 rooms.
Richard said the amount also includes a $6-million expenditure for Thunderbird Poro Point’s 500-person events center as well as a spa which would open in April next year.
Eventually, Thunderbird Poro Point will have 300 rooms, including the yet-to-be-built villas.
Thunderbird is also planning to upgrade its 9-hole golf course into an 18-hole of international standards.
Thunderbird is currently building a beach club, the first phase of which would be operational by December 10 to offer watersports. The pool is also being finished for operation by December 15.
In Binangonan, Richard said, Thunderbird plans to spend $300,000 per room to upgrade the existing 73 rooms and build 127 more rooms.
Richard said Thunderbird sees a lot of real estate opportunities in the Philippines although the company has no immediate pans to build a third resort in the country.
Although the Binangonan resort has been in operation for four years, the Thunderbird Poro Point complex is expected to generate more revenues for the company.
"This is bigger and much more exclusive," Richard said. Covering 80 hectares, Thunderbird Poro Point has golf and a beach features that cannot be found in the Binangonan site.
Richard said the company plans to market Thunderbird Poro Point to Japanese tourists, a market that matches all of the resort’s features.
"They spend more, they gamble and like golf compared to Koreans who also gamble a lot but play little golf or the Chinese who don’t play golf," Richard said.
He said Thunderbird will start marketing this resort to the Japanese market in 2009, setting up a sales office in Narita also next year.
The marketing pitch will have a real estate component as Thunderbird plans to sell villas to their foreign clients,
For a fairly new resort, Thunderbird enjoys 40 to 50 percent occupancy rate with mostly local clients. Only 10 percent of its clients are foreigners, mostly Americans, Chinese and Koreans.
But Richard said he hopes foreign visitors would increase once regular commercial flights start flying from the San Fernando airport, which is five minutes away from Thunderbird.
By November 15, chartered flights for Thunderbird customers will start flying from the airport.
Richard said Thunderbird is also tying up with international travel agents to market tour packages in the resort.
