Resorts World Manila to add 4 hotels by 2016

MANILA, Philippines - Andrew Tan-led Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), which is investing heavily in the tourism sector, plans to add four more hotels at the Resorts World Manila in Pasay City in the next five years.

In a statement, AGI said these will bring to seven the number of hotels in the integrated entertainment complex that will have an aggregate room count of 2,800 and accommodate around 600,000 foreign and local visitors.

"Resorts World Manila is a game changer. No other tourism development has been developed in the same breadth and scale. We are breaking new ground and we hope that other investors will join us in investing in the country’s tourism sector, where the potential is vast and the opportunities to create an impact on our economy is great," said Tan, AGI's chairman.

Resort World, which is run by AGI's subsidiary Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., features a casino and other leisure and shopping centers on a portion of the 25-hectare New Port City, adjacent to the Villamor golf course and across the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

Among the hotels in the area are the six-star Maxims Tower, the five-star Marriott Hotel and budget hotel Remington Hotel. By next month, Resorts World will host a total of 1,226 hotel rooms spread out over the three brands.

Tan said AGI's planned expansion is in line with the government's efforts to boost the tourism sector, with the target of attracting at least 6.5 million foreign arrivals and generating about $7 billion earnings by 2016.

"We are extremely bullish about the prospects of the tourism industry. We have committed substantial resources to build up our capacity and be a major player in this sector," said Tan.

"The tourism industry is one of the country's key economic drivers and therefore, the private sector needs to step in and invest alongside the government," he added.

Before the year ends, AGI said Travellers will unveil plans for a second tourism estate— the 31-hectare Resorts World Bayshore in the Entertainment City Manila.

"We have a very exciting concept for our Resorts World Bayshore project, one we believe will be very appealing to tourists. We are creating a full range of attractions that people from all over the world will want to see and experience for themselves."

Meanwhile, another AGI subsidiary, Globe-Estate Resorts Inc., is developing a P15-billion resort hotel project in Boracay that will offer at least 2,500 rooms.