Astoria Palawan earmarks P 650M to cope with expanding market

Astoria Hotels and Resorts (AHR) will spend P650 million to expand its resort in Palawan, as it expects more tourists in the coming years, the company said in a statement.

Astoria Palawan currently has 150 rooms, but AHR intends to expand its capacity to cater to more guests.

Part of the P650-million investment will go to the construction of a new 52-room building that has its own private pool, a children’s playroom and a laundry room for guests.

Astoria Palawan will also upgrade the leisure features of the resort so it can promote snorkeling around the sandbar nearby and around the resort, as well as launch eco-cultural activities. These facilities are expected to be completed by mid-2020.

The company sees a 20-percent growth in occupancy rate in its Palawan resort in the next three years given the continued rise in the number of tourists visiting Puerto Princesa.

AHR chief operating officer Vivian Ng said the company saw the need to further upgrade the facilities at Astoria Palawan so it could take advantage of the growth in tourist arrivals.

“In the next three years, our growth drivers will be the day-tour packages, the MICE (meetings, incentives, conference and exhibitions) market, European leisure travelers and weekend family staycations,” she said.

“We are hoping to increase occupancy by 20 percent across the board by addressing these different market segments and targeting markets by seasonal promotions,” Ng said.

AHR is bullish on the tourism prospects of Puerto Princesa, especially with development projects being undertaken by the national and local governments in the area, the company said.

Company president and CEO Jeffrey Ng previously said Astoria Palawan’s occupancy rate was hitting more than 80 percent already.

“We think that with that kind of rate, it’s necessary for us to expand now for completion probably by the middle of next year.”

“With the tremendous growth of the city, plus the completion of the Puerto Princesa International Airport, we expect more local and international tourist arrivals in Puerto Princesa. So we feel that 150 rooms are not enough,” he said. INQ