Kevin Tan, the President and CEO of Alliance Global Group (AGI) and Chairman of Newport World Resorts operator Travellers International Hotel Group, confirmed Wednesday that the company was embarking on it first two expansion projects outside Manila by way of new integrated resort developments in Boracay and Cebu.
A week after reports emerged that Travellers would spend around US$300 million on a casino resort within the company’s 30-hectare Mactan Newtown township in Cebu, Tan revealed during a Keynote Address at the IAG Academy Summit at Newport that the investment into what will be called Mactan World Resorts is expected to be closer to US$400 million, boasting a hotel and casino among other offerings and slated to open by 2026.
“Once completed, this gaming and leisure hub is expected to supply more than 5,000 new jobs to the residents of Lapu Lapu City and nearby cities in Cebu,” he explained.
Also on the radar is Boracay World Resorts, to be located within AGI’s 150-hectare Boracay township. The township’s existing facilities include an 18-hole golf course, a 1-kilometer private beach and almost 2,000 hotel room keys.
Travellers, Tan said, will add an integrated resort “with its own free standing villas and hotel suites … elevating the tourism industry by seamlessly combining the natural beauty of Boracay with the excitement and sophistication of a modern integrated resort.”
In a recent interview with Inside Asian Gaming, Tan said AGI would take advantage of the land it owns around the Philippines by way of its property development arm Megaworld – adding that Boracay was high on its priority list.
“We are well situated in high traffic tourist areas or tourist destinations in the Philippines and that gives us tremendous opportunity to expand wherever we feel the market would need us,” he told IAG.
“We’re very excited about Boracay … that’s the next resort that we will probably be opening. We are already in the planning stages of that. It’s not going to be a massive property but I think it’s just right for the market there. It is situated in our flagship township, which is called Boracay Newcoast. It is the only resort on the Boracay island that has a golf course and it already comprises 10% of the entire Boracay Island.”
Tan added that the company would continue to eye expansion opportunities outside of Metro Manila, describing the city as already saturated.
“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,” he explained.
“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.”
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