Hotel investors eye Davao for expansion

DAVAO CITY -- This city has continued to attract hotel investors as it has become a favorite venue under the MICE tourism ((Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events), a real estate industry leader said.

Jet Yu, the founder and chief executive officer of real estate consultancy firm PRIME Philippines, said Tuesday the booming tourism industry in this city has become a magnet for both local and foreign investments.

PRIME, he said, has been getting several inquiries on the prospects for hotel investments while some investors came to see the actual market.

Based on the company's July 31 Davao City's Property Market Highlights report, Yu said the local economy has greatly benefited from the local tourism industry's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 percent.

Domestic tourists comprise the greater bulk of the tourist population with a CAGR of 13.3 percent, while foreign tourist arrivals are beginning to catch up at 9.3 percent.

City Tourism Officer Generose Tecson, in an interview Tuesday, said that from January to May, the city recorded a total of 977,714 visitors -- 876,216 of whom are domestic tourists, 70,702 foreigners, and 27,796 overseas Filipinos.

Tecson said Americans were the top foreign travelers to the city at 8,851; followed by the Japanese (4,941), Chinese (3,957), Koreans (3,143), and Australians (2,875).

She attributed the increase to MICE plus the holding of the Ironman 70.3 Davao in March this year. "We are the only one in the country that has a MICE program spearheaded by the private sector and backed up by the Department of Tourism," she noted.

Yu said the strong tourism in Davao is also attributed to its improved security, public and private sector partnerships, infrastructure developments, government efforts and initiatives including hosting of cultural events, social media promotion, and local and international roadshows.

He said the rise of hotel establishments are ideal venues for business-related gatherings, which can benefit from this expected increase in demand. By 2020, he said, the hotel room supply is expected to increase from the present 1,500 rooms.

"The city is no longer simply a tourist destination but has attracted corporate and professional travelers to hold business-related events across this metropolitan area," he said. (Digna D. Banzon/PNA)