Okada Manila to attract more tourists to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – The opening of Okada Manila, the third integrated resort and casino to rise at the 100-hectare Entertainment City in Parañaque, is seen to further position Manila as a top tourism and entertainment destination in the region.

Okada Manila president Steve Wolstenholme said the integrated resort, with its world class features and diverse entertainment facilities, would seek to attract both local and international travelers to look at Manila as a destination of choice for tourism and entertainment.

“We look at our resort as an opportunity for us to work to really promote the destination... We want people to see Manila as a choice destination,” Wolstenholme said.

He said Okada Manila sees opportunity in major gaming markets like China and emerging markets, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and India.

Locals who simply want to view the resort’s fountain – one of the largest in the world – and experience dining in the resort, are also welcome to visit the complex, he said.

Wolstenholme said Kazuo Okada, the company’s chairman, is also looking into other avenues to support and promote the country’s tourism industry.

For one, the Okada group has already expressed its willingness to sponsor the Miss Universe pageant in January 2017.

“We are in very detailed discussions right now with regards to holding that event. It’s (the sponsorship) both in kind and financial,” Wolstenholme said.

He said Okada is also eyeing other areas for future expansion, such as setting up the resort as a possible docking location for international cruise ships.

The construction of the exclusive marina will be under the second phase of the project, said Lorenzo Manalang, executive director at Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc.

Manalang said cruise liners have always wanted to penetrate the Philippine market and dock in the country but could not do it because of the lack of facilities.

“We’re being called by the cruise liners,” he said.

Manalang also said Okada Manila would also complement its neighboring integrated resorts to make Entertainment City at par with other entertainment hotspots in the world.

Okada Manila, which is set to open before year-end, is a partnership between Okada and Filipino businessman Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuangco.  It is the third integrated casino resort that will open in Entertainment City after port tycoon Enrique Razon’s Solaire and Casino and Melco Crown’s City of Dreams.

The 44-hectare casino project is expected to introduce a seamless integration of authentic and high quality Japanese service and world-renowned Filipino hospitality that will help bring to life Okada Manila’s impressive integrated resort amenities and facilities.

It will have two Y-shaped hotel towers with a total of 993 rooms, a majestic 37,464 square-meter dancing fountain, a huge casino floor with 500 table games and 3,000 electronic gaming machines, 90,000 square-feet night club and beach club entertainment complex, an 8,409 square-meter retail promenade, a world-class spa and 21 self-operated restaurants for casual, buffet, and international dining. – With Iris Gonzales