Eskaya eyes more rooms

MANILA, Philippines — Eskaya Beach Resort Corp. plans to add more rooms to its inventory, driven by the influx of tourists into Bohol.

In an interview, Eskaya president and chief operating officer Ralph Miguel Lim said the company may construct additional rooms once the Panglao airport is completed.

“It depends on how many tourists will come. If we see more arrivals, we may need more rooms, “Lim told The Star.

At present, Eskaya has a total of 24 villas, nine of which were recently added as part of the company’s expansion initiatives.

Lim said the company invested around P250-P300 million for the construction of the new rooms.

In a separate interview, Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto told The Star that the provincial government is optimistic about  achieving 1.2 million to 1.3 million arrivals this year with the completion of the Panglao International Airport in August.

Chatto, however, said the growth in arrivals may not be that big this year since the new airport is opening in the middle of the year.

“But next year, I think we can hit 1.5 million arrivals,” Chatto said.

In 2016, the Bohol province breached the one million mark in arrivals.

Chatto said they are still collating arrivals data for 2017.

Eskaya embarked on its expansion in 2016 with the construction of nine additional villas, which were completed in April last year.

Lim said the average occupancy rate of the resort development is 65 percent.

Apart from the additional villas, the resort is also building a gym, which will be completed in two months time.