Megaworld Corp. will build its fourth Belmont Hotel in the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park township in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
Megaworld said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the 12-story Belmonte Hotel would have 405 rooms composed of a mix of twin, queen, junior, executive and specially-abled suites for persons with disabilities.
“We have seen the huge potential of Iloilo as a tourism destination. With the Iloilo Convention Center as the main facility for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE), there is no doubt that Iloilo City needs another world-class hotel. And we are bringing another Megaworld homegrown hotel brand, which has gained popularity among business travelers since Belmont Hotel Manila opened in 2015,” Megawworld Iloilo vice president for sales and marketing Jennifer Palmares-Fong said.
The hotel is scheduled to open in 2023.
Belmonte Hotel Iloilo, the third hotel to be rise within the township development, will be located along the 1.1-kilometer long Festive Walk Parade, just walking distance to the iconic Iloilo Convention Center and the Festive Walk Mall.
It will have its own swimming pool with in-pool lounge, landscaped deck with pool bar and outdoor lounge, fitness center with sauna, function room, and an all-day dining restaurant.
Megaworld opened its third Richmonde Hotel in 2014 in the Iloilo Business Park, while sister company Travelers International Hotels Group Inc., owner, and operator of Resorts World Manila, launched the Courtyard by Marriott early this year.
Citing data from Iloilo City Tourism Office, Megaworld said tourist arrivals in the city had remarkably increased during the past five years.
Around 1.08 million local and foreign tourists visited Iloilo City in 2017. Most foreign visitors came from South Korea, US, Canada, Mexico, and Australia.
Tourism receipts, meanwhile, reached P19.8 billion in 2017 as registration for tourism-related establishments such as hotels rose by 55 percent to 1,605 last year from 2013.
“Megaworld’s Iloilo Business Park itself is a tourist destination. Visitors come to the township to visit the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art, shop and dine in Festive Walk Mall, chill in Festive Walk Parade, attend events in the Iloilo Convention Center, or stay in our world-class hotels. We expect more tourists to come to our township as more establishments and attractions open in the coming months,” Palmares-Fong said.