Astoria sets P3B for expansion across PHL

The Astoria Hotels and Resorts Group is set to spend at least P3 billion in the next three years to expand its footprint across the country.

"We will be investing at least P3 billion in the next three years in our various expansion projects around the country," Astoria president Jeffrey Ng told reporters on the sidelines of the Puerto Princesa City Business Forum in Pasay City.

So far, among the concrete plans of the company are to increase the capacity of its Palawan resort which currently has 150 rooms.

"We feel that with the tremendous growth of the city, because of the Puerto Princesa International Airport, we expect more local, especially international tourist arrivals into Puerto Princesa, so we feel that 150 rooms is not enough," he said.

"We have to construct 50 more rooms. We plan to finish these 50 additional rooms by next year so that by next year, with the influx of more tourists, we hope to cater [to] more [people]," added Ng.

Astoria Palawan is currently at 80% average occupancy, which it aims to increase with the additional facilities.

"We will be adding additional facilities like additional swimming pools and the expansion of our resort so that we can cater to even more people," he said.

Aside from Puerto Princesa, Ng said Astoria is also looking at other areas across Palawan and the Philippines.

"We are also looking at, planning, of putting up hotels in Coron and Lio in El Nido, still in the planning stages. We have properties in Lio and we are studying the design, how many rooms we will need for our project in Lio," he explained.

Outside Palawan, other possible areas for expansion include Bohol and Siargao.

"In Bohol, we are planning to expand, start construction by next year, another 250 rooms, so that's all the concrete plans we have right now," said Ng.

"We are still studying, we have acquired property already in Siargao and right now, we are still doing the design phase, how many rooms, what kind of rooms, amenities," he elaborated. — MDM, GMA News