Santorini inspires tycoon Andrew Tan for Boracay island project

MANILA, Philippines - Magical. Indescribable. Astonishing. These are the words that tourists use to describe the Aegean island of Santorini, in Greece. A recent trip to this island, with white villas hugging the still-active volcano’s sloping caldera, has inspired taipan Andrew Tan, chairman of conglomerate Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), to plan for and make his new tourism project on Boracay Island magical and memorable for visitors.

The tycoon is looking at making Boracay a more vibrant place that will attract even more tourists with the soft launch of Boracay Newcoast. This is his first venture into island tourism estates, after AGI invested P5 billion in Fil-Estate Land Inc. and renamed it Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI).

“Just as Santorini has offered tourists choices from boutique hotels to luxury hotel suites, I envision Boracay Newcoast as the latest, favored playground on Boracay Island, offering tourists a variety of lodging choices and leisure options,” Tan declared. “With tourist arrivals projected to go up as Boracay becomes an even more popular beach destination worldwide, we at AGI and GERI will help boost Boracay’s employment numbers and family incomes.”

Boracay Newcoast Village is the first and only exclusive subdivision to rise on Boracay Island.

Boracay Newcoast is the first and only master-planned, tourism-oriented community spanning 14 percent of the island. Tan envisions seven clusters within Boracay Newcoast that will further boost the island as a tourism destination and thereby expedite employment numbers. The hotel cluster, with its four international hotel brands and one local hotel, will offer tourists splendid accommodations in 1,500 new hotel suites with access to a private beach. These hotels will help the island accommodate the projected increase in Boracay tourist arrivals from about 900,000 this year to 1.75 million in 2016. With more tourists being serviced, employee count will normally follow suit.

The leisure center and Newcoast Station will feature outdoor activities that tourists will enjoy. Boutique hotels are planned for another district, with their own stretch of private beach. Tourists can stock up on Boracay souvenirs or partake of the freshest seafood for dinner at the Shophouse district. Adjacent to this is Newcoast Village, targeted for a select few who intend to make Boracay their second home, just as Santorini’s villas have sheltered families across generations. Boracay Newcoast Village is the first and only subdivision to be offered on the island.

Boracay as an international tourist destination: Boracay Newcoast will offer 1,500 new hotel suites across four international hotel brands and one local hotel chain. The tourist estate also boasts its own one-km. stretch of private beach.

As to what architectural design is ideal for the boutique hotel, Shophouse or Newcoast Village districts, Tan pointed out that homeowners can draw inspiration from the ocean villas in fabled island destinations such as Santorini, Bali, Phuket, and the Bahamas.

The final cluster is perhaps the most prized, as the area adjacent to the international hotels is reserved for exclusive ocean villas. This cluster rests beside Hole No. 1 of Boracay’s only golf club, Fairways & Bluewater, an 18-hole Graham Marsh par-72 championship golf course with a spa center and nature farm.

Included in the master plan are a wellness center to pamper guests and a transport terminal so that tourists can easily access any part of Boracay.

Tan is “extremely excited” about his new island project. With a focused master plan for Boracay Newcoast to be implemented in the next few years, he hopes that tourists will “find their stay in Boracay truly memorable and come back to the Philippines for the holidays.”

For more information on Boracay Newcoast, call Megaworld Global-Estate at 904-5580 or visit www.global-estate.ph.