Cebu tourism remains upbeat with new leisure investments

CEBU, Philippines – Despite the weak market outlook of the global tourism industry, Cebu continues to attract tourism related investments specifically support facilities for leisure activities like golf courses.

Aside from the 70-hectare Golf Course facility that will be developed by the Korean-led Philippine BXT Corporation in Cordova, another Golf Course facility will be built in Mandaue City called Greenlux Golf Driving Range.

Greenlux Golf Driving Range chief executive officer Kim Bo Yeon said that the company will invest at least P20 million for this project.

Located on a one-hectare property lot near Parkmall at the Mandaue City Reclamation Area, the sports complex is equipped with a driving range that is at least 190 yards long, 50 shooting booths and an automatic golf ball serve system.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Phineas Alburo welcomes this investment saying it will provide more support leisure facilities for tourists here.

Alburo said golf ranks among the top leisure activities that foreign tourists engage in when traveling to Cebu, apart from water sports like diving and snorkeling.

In fact, consultancy and research firm CB Richard Ellis Group, suggested that Cebu should provide enough Golf Courses facilities especially for the growing and moneyed active foreign retirees aged 40 years old to 60 years old.        

Based on the company’s survey and extensive market study, CB Richard Ellis Philippines, head for research Victor Asuncion said Cebu is in the best position to attract the 40-60 years old retiree market.

“Active retirees want to be mobile. They want to see places and have fun,” Asuncion said that because of this Cebu’s Golf Courses facilities are not enough to accommodate this market.

He said in Bantayan, and Bogo towns the golf courses in these areas are always full-packed by the active retiree market, from different parts of the world, including Japanese, Europeans, among others.

To date, he said there are only five golf course facilities in Cebu. These are not enough to host the growing market for active retirees.

“In my stay here in Cebu for the last five years, my business contacts, especially those from abroad, are clamoring for a big golf driving range,” said Greenlux Golf Driving Range chief executive officer Kim Bo Yeon.

Kim is partnering with local investors in this project that will also provide space for a three-story commercial building, with a total floor area of more than 800-square meters, which will house various amenities, including a golf shop, spa, coffee shop, restaurant, convenience store, child care center, lounge, gym, travel agency, Internet café and conference room, among others.

BXT Corporation on the other hand, will build an 18-hole Golf Academy in Cordova. Once completed, it will be the first championship and world-class golf course in Cebu that will also pull up Cebu’s attractiveness for sports tourism enthusiasts around the world, especially Japanese and also Koreans.