Filinvest Hospitality Corp. (FHC), the accommodation unit of the Filinvest Group, plans to add 2,000 hotel room keys in its portfolio as part of its long-term growth strategy amid the bullish outlook on the local tourism industry,
FHC first senior vice president Francis Gotianun said in an interview at the sidelines of the Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines third general membership meeting Tuesday the company is focused on expanding its presence in key tourist destinations particularly Baguio, Clark and Bohol as well as emerging leisure markets.
“We can really see the tourism numbers starting to come back up. Very strong domestic. International, still a little bit below, but we think we will catch up,” Gotianun said.
FHC has 1,800 room keys across seven hotels. Next year, the company is slated to open the 256-room Grafik Hotel in Baguio City. Four new hotels are also under development.
“We are focusing on key tourist destinations across the country. So, we’re working on a collection of the top spots, So, when we go out into the international market or even the domestic market, we can sell all the good destinations of the Philippines,” Gotianun said.
Gotianun expects strong demand in Baguio which saw few hotel openings in the area in recent years.
“As there hasn’t been many new hotels that have opened in Baguio in the recent years, we feel that there is pent-up demand in the market,” he said.
FHC is the hospitality arm of conglomerate FIlinvest Development Corp.
FHC saw its revenues increase 49 percent in the first half from a year ago, on continued rebound in domestic tourism and international arrivals.
This led to higher room occupancy and rates across its high-end five-star properties under the Crimson brand and Quest hotels and Timberland which serve the mid-priced leisure markets.
