By BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT
April 26, 2009, 1:50pm [ Manila Bulletin Online ]
Tourism investments of P8.016 billion have resulted in the opening of 1,231 additional tourist rooms in the first quarter this year and the employment of 1,286 people, the Department of Tourism reported.
The DoT further said that by year-end, some 1,946 people will be directly employed nationwide once the additional 2,315 hotel rooms become operational in other destinations.
With greater demand for tourism services, the DoT has endorsed five development projects worth P6.323 billion in the first quarter of the year. These initiatives will generate 6,340 employment opportunities for local residents in the host communities.
The DoT reported that the P3.18-billion Imperial Palace Water Park, Resort and Spa with 616 rooms contributed the bulk of the new hotel rooms created in the first quarter this year.
This new facility has increased the hotel room supply in Cebu by 4 percent to 14,792. The project has also provided employment to 780 workers.
San Remigio Beach Club also opened its convention facility in the northern part of Cebu to serve as venues for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) of both international and domestic markets.
Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa, a high-end 217-room resort in Boracay Island, opened just in time for the influx of tourists on vacation and long holidays. The resort has initially hired 488 workers to manage its various ranges of product offerings.
Seven locators investing in 28 cluster villas for a total cost of P761.9 million in the Amanpulo Tourism Enterprise Zone in Palawan also began their operation during the first quarter.
In Metro Manila, there were 320 additional rooms with the opening of the Legend International’s Park, Bed and Breakfast Hotel, Eurotel Hotel Branch in Makati, and the expansion of Oakwood Serviced Residences.
By this year, some 1,946 people will be directly employed nationwide once the additional 2,315 rooms become operational.
These include Manila Ocean Park (120 rooms), The Picasso Serviced Residences (136 rooms), Newport Marriott Hotel (342 rooms), and Maxims Hotel (178 rooms), and Radisson Hotel in Cebu (400 rooms).
The Boracay island will have new rooms with the opening of Crowne Regency (449), Phonex Hotel (130 rooms), Boracay Regency Lagoon (120 rooms), Seven Stones (100 rooms), Grand Water (100 rooms).
Other hotels include Microtel Inns and Suites in Palawan (50 rooms), Summer Ridge in Tagaytay (108 rooms) and Discovery Bay Misibis in Albay (82 rooms).
