ALI ventures into eco-tourism dev’t

MANILA, Philippines - Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is venturing into tourism estate development for the first time with the launch of a mixed-use project in Palawan.

Ayala Hotels and Resorts aims to make its mark in the eco-tourism estate sector while beefing up its available hotel rooms in the next few years, a company executive said.

The property developer last month embarked on its first master-planned, eco-tourism estate called Lio, a 325-hectare mixed-use development in El Nido, Palawan.

“For the Lio development, we earmarked P6 billion for Phase one, which is close to 60 hectares,” said ALI chief finance officer Jaime E. Ysmael.

Township resort projects will cater to leisure home owners and retirees.

“It will have a residential component to make it a destination tourism estate. And its a large property so we can do a lot to make it complete in terms of amenities,” Ysmael said.

The first phase, which will also feature a hotel, will be completed in five years.

“This year we will start the construction of the Seda Resort Hotel that is 150 rooms,” Ysmael said.

ALI operates the famous El Nido Resorts in Lagen and Miniloc Islands in Northern Palawan.

Ayala Hotels and Resorts operates 2,151 rooms through Cebu Marriott, Hotel Intercontinental, Fairmont Hotels, Raffles Suites and Residences, Holiday Inn and Suites and Seda Hotel. The company targets to hit 4,000 rooms in 2016.

The Department of Tourism targets to attract 10 million foreign tourists by 2016 while encouraging investments in hotels and tourism-related infrastructure.

ALI will spend P70 billion this year, up from P66.26 billion in 2013, to complete ongoing developments and new launches to help sustain the growth trajectory in the coming years. It also plans to launch 78 projects this year with an estimated value of P142 billion.