DEVELOPER TO PURSUE P8B BOHOL PROJECT

BXT Corp., which runs the JPark Island Resort in Cebu, will develop a 24-hectare property in Bohol Prospects look good, with the opening this year of a new terminal in Mactan and an international airport in Panglao, Bohol

Following the success of its flagship resort in Mactan Island, BXT Corp., the owner of JPark Island Resort Cebu, is going to expand in Bohol this year.

BXT Corp. president Justin Uy said he will invest at least P8 billion in Bohol and that he intends to break ground on the project within the first quarter of 2018.

BXT Corp. has acquired a 24-hectare property in Panglao, where most of Bohol’s resorts are based, which will be transformed into a hospitality and convention facility.

The development, Uy said, will be done in three phases. It will initially build 1,200 guest rooms and a convention facility that can accommodate at least 1,600 guests.

“The Panglao project will have a bigger water park,” said Uy, who’s also the owner of Profood International Corp., an producer and exporter of dried mangoes.

“We believe that tourism will propel the economic growth of the country this year,” said Uy.

Expansion in Mactan

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) 7 has projected that the region’s tourism industry will grow faster this year. Completion of the Mactan Cebu International Airport’s Terminal 2 and the Panglao International Airport in Bohol are expected to boost the travel industry and allied industries.

JPark Resort Panglao is slated for completion in the next five years.

Besides cementing their foothold in Bohol’s tourism sector, Uy said he is also expanding his resort’s footprint in Mactan, through expansion of guest rooms.

“Amid the travel warnings issued to the country, our hotel posted a healthy booking this year,” said Uy. “We continue to attract diverse markets.”

Uy, meanwhile, announced he has temporarily put on hold the planned expansion in Palawan, citing the lack of support infrastructure. “Palawan is not yet ready. There is a lack of infrastructure (in that destination),” he said.

Direct flights to Cebu and Bohol have become an important factor in the company’s growth direction, said Uy, who expects “exciting times ahead” for tourism, should the government’s infrastructure programs materialize.

During the first half of 2017, Bohol recorded a total of 285,484 tourists, according to the partial data of the Department of Tourism (DOT7).

Of the total, 97,832 were foreign guests while 187,580 were domestic tourists.

As of August 2017, 22 percent of visitor arrivals in the country entered via Cebu, the tourism department reported.