TALK OF THE TOWN
Tourism township transforms a slice of Iloilo into a major hub
IN 2015, Natalie Lim, General Manager of Richmonde Hotel Iloilo, initially felt a bit out of place in Megaworld Corporation’s Iloilo township. With just the hotel, a Mcdonald’s, and a couple of BPO centers, it seemed a bit deserted.
However, she soon discovered the potential of the Megaworld Business Park: it was destined to become a thriving hub in Iloilo’s booming city center.
“Now, if you ask the taxi driver to take you to the Iloilo Business Park, they will just give you a blank stare. But if you tell them, you are going to Megaworld, then they will say ’Ok’,” said Lim, the hotel’s general manager.
Lim said she was one of the rst senior employes tapped to manage the operations of Richmonde Hotel when it opened in July 2015. Her colleague Jun Justo had already sounded her o about working in Iloilo while it was still under construction, and she agreed.
“When we arrived here, this was a dirt road. ere was nothing here, it was a struggle to stay at our hotel,” she said. She even wondered how they can sustain their operations when hotels everywhere were half – or even below -- their normal rates. Worse, she could hardly see taxi cabs around the area.
en she also noticed that the whole stretch that they were occupying near Mandurria District was perpendicular to the main road. True enough, a few years later, the transport hub of Iloilo City for the provincial buses was relocated a few meters away from Richmonde because of its accessibility.
After living in Iloilo for nine years, Lim says she has learned to enjoy “life (here) which is a lot slower.”
When she was working in Manila, she recalled how she had to travel three hours every day due to tra c. In Iloilo, it only takes her 20 minutes to reach home.
The rise of the Iloilo Convention Center
Two months after Richmonde’s formal opening, the Iloilo Convention Center was also inaugurated in the 72-hectare township developed by Megaworld, which used to house the old Iloilo Airport and its runway.
It was also Megaworld that donated the lot beside Richmonde for the two-level convention center, a brainchild of then senator Franklin Drilon, who hails from the city. As the largest meeting place in the Western Visayas, the complex has a 4,200 seating capacity.
Lim recalled that the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone o ered Richmonde the management of the convention center, but Megaworld gave way to Premier Island, which is owned by a local tycoon.
“Everything was being rushed at that time for the Apec (Asia Paci
c Economic Forum) and the investment was big. e only guy who had the money was Alfonso Tan,” she noted. Tan, a homegrown contractor, was also behind the Iloilo Esplanade and operates the downtown Hotel Del Rio.
MICE tourism
Lim said they have been specializing in Meetings, Incentives and Conventions, or simply MICE, because of Richmonde’s proximity to the convention center.
It turned out that the local government is also active in marketing the city as a MICE destination.
Meanwhile, Lim said the hotel has become “interdependent” with the convention center,
“We have a strong partnership with Premier (Island). We can accommodate our guests for sleeping, but not for big functions so we are binging it to them,” she said. Right now, she said their function room only has a 100-seating capacity.
With the boom in city tourism, Richmonde has become a favorite destination of international travelers, along with “leisure tourists, “who have a budget of $100 and up.”
“Price wise, people are willing to pay more, Lim noted, “And I would say we have gone up to our prepandemic level,” Richmonde likewise found a ‘niche’ in promoting Ilonggo dishes even before the city was declared a Unesco Creative City of Gastronomy. In their menu, guests can nd Ilonggo food which are not normally served as comfort food in the local restaurants, and Lim described these as “heritage menu.”
A favorite dish of both locals and visitors is the way they cook mongo with pompano in the traditional way using gata, or coconut milk. Another traditional dish served in their restaurant is Linutik, a classic Ilonggo soup with mashed squash and malunggay leaves.
Lim revealed that when in the city, singer Jose Mari Chan would often just go the hotel’s Granary restaurant and order the Laswa, a vegetable-based dish which relies on garlic, onion, and tomato plus a little salt as avor enhancer.
Once a month, the hotel serves degustation dinner—a seven-course meal of of Ilonggo dishes on the table, dubbed “Lameza Ilonggo.” Lim noted that most of their guests are locals who would spend for a typical Ilonggo meal served in the hotel.
Recently, Megaworld launched its “Visit Iloilo” marketing campaign to help the Iloilo Festival Foundation boost the festivals that are happening all year round in the entire province.
“We are here to make Iloilo the festival capital of the Philippines,” Lim declared.
Accordig to her, the unique opportunity to sustain tourism needs a sustainable approach, and Megaworld has started becoming a zerowaste township ideal both for tourism and business opportunities.