Dos Palmas closes

Citing poor sales and heavy financial obligations, Dos Palmas Resort, one of the premier island-resorts of Palawan, closed down yesterday.

The company said in a statement that since the Abu Sayyaf attack on the resort on May 27, management had tried to keep the resort open, hoping it would not have to lay off any of its 130 employees.

"We kept all of our employees despite poor sales for the last five months. We were hoping and praying that things would turn around but the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the US finally made the decision for us," the statement said.

Dos Palmas said it is now reviewing the viability of other resorts and is looking at various options but declined to give further details.

Established in 1998, Dos Palmas Resort was regularly fully booked and was supposed to have a "banner year" this year until the May attack occurred.

Prior to the incident, local and foreign guests used to come in droves to the resort. In fact, it was starting to get bookings for big conventions from foreign companies and financial institutions due to its convention facilities.

Last year, Dos Palmas played host to the prestigious Miss Asia-Pacific beauty pageant and only last weekend, it hosted the swimsuit competition of the first Miss Earth beauty contest.

Despite its decision to close down and the downturn in tourism, the company said it still believes that tourism holds the key to many of the country’s economic problems because it will attract local and foreign investments and generate employment.

Dos Palmas thus urged the government to go all-out in promoting tourism to directly address poverty in rural areas.

During its entire operation, the company has kept the resort’s surrounding areas environmentally-sound and has asked the government to declare the vicinity around the resort a marine sanctuary.

The company has pledged to protect the resort’s environment even after its closure.