Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr has hailed the opening of a new 1,530-room hotel in Manila’s Entertainment City precinct as another game changer for the nation’s tourism industry.
Hailed as the largest hotel development in the country, the 19-storey Grand Westside Hotel forms part of the broader Westside City project that will in the coming months also feature a new US$1.1 billion hotel-casino currently being built by LET Group subsidiary Suntrust Resort Holdings Inc. It will also house a Grand Opera House and new theaters.
Once again showing his support for the Philippines leisure and tourism industries, having recently attended the opening of Solaire Resort North in Quezon City, President Marcos stated during a speech that Grand Westside Hotel would build on the “remarkable” growth of the tourism sector, which contributed 8.6% to the nation’s GDP in 2023.
“Thanks to this hotel, we can do more,” he said at Saturday’s ceremonial opening. “Not only can we accommodate the resurging number of local and international tourists coming to this side of Metro Manila, but we can also expect our Entertainment City to become better known and even more distinguished, elevating its status to more potential visitors in the coming years.
“With all these [new attractions], we foresee not only the entry of more tourists but also the generation of more jobs, of new businesses and greater opportunity. In fact, [although] many have benefited from the actual construction of these [properties], around 20,000 direct and indirect jobs will still be created throughout the operation of this hotel in the years to come.”
Suntrust’s casino-hotel is slated to open in the first quarter of 2025.
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