Travellers International Hotel Group, operator of Manila’s Newport World Resorts, is said to be eying a new Php16.9 billion (US$300 million) integrated resort development in Cebu as it looks to expand its gaming and leisure reach across the country.
Local media outlet SunStar Cebu was the first to report the project, which it said was presented to the local government late last month by Travellers Executive Director Georgina Alvarez.
According to information provided, the IR is to be called Mactan World Resorts and located in the 30-hectare Mactan Newtown township currently being developed by Megaworld Corp around 20 minutes from Mactain-Cebu International Airport.
Megaworld and Travellers are both subsidiaries of Alliance Global Group.
Mactan World Resorts will include, among other facilities, a hotel and casino, generating around Php243 million (US$4.3 million) in real property and business taxes over the next five years.
According to SunStar Cebu, the local government has approved a resolution recommending Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan issue a certificate of “no objection” for the development.
In a separate report, InsiderPH quoted AP Securities analyst Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia as stating, “This could be [Travellers’] chance, since one can say that they were late to the Entertainment City party and it will be tough to grab market share from the existing integrated resorts in Entertainment City.”
Noting that that 17% of all inbound tourists to the Philippines visit Cebu – second only to Manila – he added, “Mactan Newtown’s proximity to the international airport in Mactan could prove to be an advantage in luring in VIPs.”
In an interview featuring on the cover of Inside Asian Gaming’s current issue of its monthly magazine, AGI CEO and Travellers Chairman Kevin Tan highlighted the company’s expansion ambitions, which will also include a project in Boracay among others.
Asked about such expansion and other potential locations, Tan explained, “I think the opportunity for growth in this sector will be to open outside Metro Manila. I think Metro Manila is quite saturated already and it’s quite competitive. Even Clark is very competitive. But to go beyond that, to build facilities and to build infrastructure in new areas, prime new areas, I think that’s where the opportunity is.
“The Philippines has a lot of beautiful tourist destinations that can be developed, that have been waiting for developments or investments like this. I think an integrated resort that brings in hotel rooms, world-class amenities and can help develop the local economies will be a very, very good thing to have.”
Cebu is currently home to NUSTAR Resort & Casino, while Dennis Uy’s PH Resorts Group is currently seeking funding to complete its stalled Emerald Bay project.
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