Marriott putting up more hotels in Phl

Hospitality company Marriott International Inc. is expanding its presence in the Philippines by increasing its hotel count to 25 and bringing in new brands within five years to take advantage of opportunities offered by the rising Chinese tourist arrivals and the country’s growing economy.

Craig Smith, president and managing director of Marriott International Asia Pacific, said in a briefing yesterday the company expects to have at least 25 hotels in the country in five years, from just four at present.

The company’s hotel count would translate to least 5,000 rooms for travelers in the country by 2024.

Currently, the company operates in the Philippines through the Marriott Hotel and Sheraton Manila Hotel both located in Pasay, Clark Marriott Hotel, and Courtyard in Iloilo.

Among the new hotels under development is the Marriott Resort & Spa Caticlan and the Courtyard by Marriott Caticlan which are slated to open in 2021.

Smith said the company also intends to introduce five hotel brands in the country including The Ritz-Carlton, Element and Westin.

The Westin brand will make its debut in the country with the opening of The Westin Manila Sonata Place developed by Robinsons Land Corp. and expected in 2021, while the eco-conscious Element brand will be officially in the country when the Element Palawan Puerto Princesa opens in 2024.

Apart from newly built hotels, Marriott is increasing its footprint in the country by adopting the conversion strategy or rebranding existing hotels.

Marriott is expanding in the country as it sees opportunities amid increasing numbers of Chinese tourists in the country.

“We see increase of Chinese travelers all over Asia Pacific and they love the Philippines and we have seen growth of Chinese travelers not just in city hotels, not just to come to gamble and shop. We’ve also seen increase in resorts. Chinese tourists are doing the same action sports. They’re bungee jumping and scuba diving and we want to be there where they are,” Smith said.

Warm Philippine and Chinese ties have resulted in more Chinese travelers to the country with data from the Department of Tourism showing nearly 1.04 million tourists from China in the January to July period.

Chinese tourists arrivals to the country are expected to reach 1.5 million by the end of this year from 1.2 million last year, and just 500,000 in 2015.

Marriott’s expansion in the country is also driven by the growing economy.

“We look forward to bringing new hotels to the Philippines together with our trusted hotel owners, enabling more choices with unsurpassed experiences for our travelers,” Smith said.