Barcelo Group ties up with Pearl Farm

DAVAO CITY – One of Spain’s largest hotel chain with the most extensive network of retail tourism agencies in Europe and the United States recently formalized a marketing and management tie-up with the leading resort hotel here – the Pearl Farm Beach Resort which from now will be known as the Barcelo Pearl Farm Island Resort.

Barcelo Empresas first established its foothold in the Philippine hotel and travel trade with a similar tie-up in the middle of last year with another hotel also here in Davao.

The Peral Farm tie-up signals an even stronger Spanish bid for the Asian market, coming shortly after the signing of another management contract with the Grand Hotel in Shanghai, China, the first for Barcelo in the region.

For Pearl Farm on the other hand, the tie-up links it with Barcelo’s 112 hotels in 18 countries and its over 400 travel agencies in Europe and the US. The Barcelo Group is a hotel and resort management company established in 1931. It operates mid-market to high-end international hotels and resorts all over the world from its corporate base in Majorca, Spain.

Founded by Simon Barcelo, the Barcelo Group now has worldwide operations stretching across the entire Iberian Peninsula during the 1970s and extending in1985 from the Caribbean, China, South America, North America to East Europe.

This partnership with Pearl Farm Beach Resort would highlight Barcelo’s relative strength in Europe, which traditionally accounts for a large segment of the resort’s clientele.

Barcelo Pearl Farm Island Resort is located by a hillside cliff covered with lush vegetation – a beautiful area transformed into a world-class resort fringed by white sand beaches.

Owned by the Floirendo family of Davao, Pearl Farm Beach Resort has been the benchmark for high-end resort operations, both in Mindanao and the rest of the country.

"We have kept our faith in Davao and its future, and we intend to be an active partner in sustaining its tourism growth," Barcelo chief executive officer for Asia John Cogul said.

Recently, the Department of Tourism (DOT) was upgraded in the Cabinet to a major cluster, signaling the intent of the Arroyo government to prioritize tourism. Former Subic chairman Richard Gordon, known for his marketing savvy, was also named tourism head.

"Davao is the land of opportunity, and that is why we have decided to do business here," said Cogul, whose group had a 2,000 business turnover of $964 million and profits of $71.6 million.