Developers confident in PHL tourism with P250-B investment — report

DEVELOPERS have committed about P250 billion to construct 158 accommodation projects, totaling 40,084 room keys, signifying strong confidence in the tourism sector, according to the 2024 Philippine Accommodation Pipeline Report.

“That 40,000 room keys equate to approximately P250-billion commitment over the following years,” Alfred Lay, director for hotels, tourism, and leisure at Leechiu Property Consultants, said during the launch of the 2024 Philippine Accommodation Pipeline Report on Tuesday. The study was conducted in partnership with the Philippine Hotel Owners Association, Inc. (PHOA).

The developers include Megaworld Corp., Double Dragon Properties Corp., SM Prime Holdings, Inc., the Hann Group in Clark, Ayala Corp., Cebu Landmasters, Inc., Filinvest Development Corp., AppleOne Properties, Inc., and Robinsons Land Corp.

“We released surveys to various brand operators, to developers, to design consultants, to the Department of Tourism (DoT), and local government units… to gather knowledge about upcoming hotels,” Mr. Lay said.

He said that once these keys are completed and operational, they will generate 57,000 direct jobs in the hotel industry.

“Luzon, as we would expect, maintains the largest pipeline that’s sitting at about 50% today, and that’s heavily driven by the economic hub being Manila,” he said, adding that this leads to 85 new accommodations and 20,116 room keys.

Visayas followed with 57 accommodations and 16, 830 room keys, accounting for 42% of the pipeline.

Meanwhile, Mindanao is expected to have 16 new accommodations and 3,138 room keys, or 8% of the total pipeline.

In terms of pipeline keys in the top 10 areas by opening years, Lapu-Lapu City led with 4, 786 keys in the pipeline across 10 projects, averaging 435 keys per accommodation.

Mr. Lay said Panglao Island, a top accommodation investment destination, came in second with 4,401 keys planned across 16 projects. This was followed by Boracay with 3, 625 keys in the pipeline.

“But it’s interesting to see that there are still quite a lot of keys coming into Boracay. Despite various infrastructure issues they may have, it still sits very much at the forefront of our development pipeline,” Mr. Lay said.

Cebu City (1,929 keys), New Clark City (1,550 keys), and Clark (2,098 keys) are also significant, with Clark’s growth attributed to its international airport and the increasing influx of Korean arrivals.

“In Clark, we’ll be driven by a lot of gaming-related keys. There are quite a lot of casino announcements lately and all of those have to be supported by a good number of room keys,” Mr. Lay said.

He also said that outside of Metro Manila, the real growth story sits in Palau and Mactan Island due to being coastal destinations and served by international connectivity.

“This information becomes especially crucial as our hotel rules inventory is invariably compared to our competitors in the region and is often used as a gauge of our competitiveness,” PHOA President Arthur M. Lopez said.

From January to August 2024, the Philippines welcomed more than four million international visitors and generated visitor receipts amounting to approximately P362.58 billion, the Tourism department reported. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante