Category: News

Filipinos visiting local tourism sites will spend US$19 billion (PhP855 billion) this year, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTT). 

The amount is close to one-third of the planned government budget for next year.

More hotels are expected to open in the Philippines in 2009 that would add over 3,000 rooms in the accommodation sector.  In the first quarter of the year alone, a total of 1,231 additional rooms were opened. With an aggregate cost of P8.016 billion, these new investments directly employed 1,286 people.

The opening of the P3.18-billion Imperial Palace Water Park, Resort and Spa in Cebu increased the room supply in the province by 4 percent to 14,792.
With 616 rooms, Imperial Palace Water Park, Resort and Spa provided employment to 780 workers.

Makati Business Club (MBC) executive director Alberto Lim has been appointed as the new secretary of the Department of Tourism (DOT), in place of Joseph Ace Durano.  Secretary Lim will have the chance to manage a more vibrant tourism industry and a stronger DOT organisation, following the enactment of the Tourism Act of 2009.

Alphaland Corp. is spending at least PhP16 billion until 2014 on various real estate projects, including the 34-hectare Bay City project to be located near SM Mall of Asia.  Reports said the Bay City project, which will have a marina/yacht club, will cost at least PhP2.5 billion.  Of the projected cost, around PhP1 billion will be for the breakwater and about PhP300 million for an old cruise ship that will be converted into a clubhouse. 

International visitor arrivals in the Philippines hit an all-time high of 1.148 million in the first quarter of 2012, up by 16 percent from 989,501 arrivals recorded a year ago.  “During this period, visitors to the Philippines increased by... Read More | Share it now!

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has started flying the newer Boeing 777-330ER to the United States, while selling the 747-400 jets it retired following an air safety ratings upgrade by the US.   PAL’s Boeing 777 bound for Los Angeles took... Read More | Share it now!

The group of Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada is preparing to hire about 8,000 workers to staff the initial phase of its integrated casino project in Entertainment City along Manila Bay in Parañaque City, which is scheduled to open in late... Read More | Share it now!

More foreign tourists visited the Philippines in 2014 but their number was still below the government’s 5 million foreign arrivals target for the year. Data released by the Department of Tourism show that inbound visitors reached 4.833 million... Read More | Share it now!