Vol. XXII, No. 163-A [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Saturday, March 21, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
THE DEPARTMENT of Tourism (DoT) has endorsed for Board of Investments (BoI) incentives 17 tourism projects totalling P20 billion.
A statement yesterday quoted Tourism Secretary Joseph H. Durano as saying that the investments are expected to generate almost 3,000 new jobs.
Specifically, the projects are:
1. Park Bed & Breakfast Hotel and Restaurant (48 rooms) in Pasay;
2. Oakwood Serviced Residences (232 rooms) in Pasig;
3. Imperial Palace Water Park Resort and Spa (616 rooms) in Cebu;
4. Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa (217 rooms);
5. Discovery Bay Misibis, Manila Ocean Park (additional facilities);
6. Picasso Serviced Residences;
7. Newport Marriot Hotel;
8. Maxim’s Hotel;
9. Microtel Inns and Suite Puerto Princesa;
10. Silang Wakeboard Park; as well as
11. Sugihara Villa Resort,
12. Vauban Villa Resort,
13. Salamanca Villa Resort,
14. Almonavides Villa Resort,
15. La Galice Villa Resort,
16. Kapangyarihan Villa Resort, and
17. La Pucelle Villa Resort�Amanpulo group, all in Pamalican Island, Palawan (28 cluster villas).
"The country is assured of a vibrant tourism industry, with bigger revenues and more jobs," Mr. Durano said in the statement.
Private entities that want to invest in tourism-related facilities have to be endorsed by the DoT to the BoI, since these kinds of projects are eligible for tax and other incentives under the Investment Priorities Plan for 2009.
Mr. Durano said tourism investments for the year may still increase because not all applications for investments have been processed. "It is still the beginning of the year and the figure only encapsulates the first two months of the year; so, the number will still rise. There are several projects still being processed like the Banyan Tree in Palawan," Mr. Durano said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Humphrey O’Leary III, chairman of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines, said earlier this week that tourism investors are building hotels in the country despite the global economic downturn because investors want to be ready with facilities once tourism picks up again after the financial crisis.
The complete tallies of 2007 and 2008 endorsed tourism projects were not available as of press time, although the DoT endorsed P93.8 billion worth of investments in 2006. — Emilia Narni J. David
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