Boracay is about to rock

MANILA, Philippines - Now is the “Time for the Philippines,” as international realtor Claire Brown asserts.

Brown (www.clairebrownrealty.com), in her buyer’s advisory column in Property Report South East Asia Luxury magazine in its September issue, gave a tip for foreign and local investors: “Boracay is about to rock!”

First, she narrated to her readers why Boracay is truly special: it “is famous for its gorgeous and bustling pure white sand beaches, turquoise waters and swaying palms… Boracay is already a well-established and dearly loved tourist destination.”

 “For me, it’s the funnest place on earth and my favorite place in the Philippines for a great beach holiday and a side order of hell raising by night, if that happens to take my fancy,” she said. “Add this unprecedented influx of well-heeled leisure seekers to an island that is already maxed out for a decent proportion of the year, and add on top of that an already acute shortage of luxury accommodation… and you have yourselves the perfect storm.”

The public or private sector can choose to step in to weather what Brown foresees as a perfect storm. Among the projects in the island that can help Boracay fulfill its tourism potential is Boracay Newcoast on the island’s eastern side. Covering 140 hectares and an estimated 14 percent of the island’s total area, Boracay Newcoast is this paradise’s first master-planned integrated tourism estate.

Boracay Newcoast boasts two districts that are ideal for the investing community. First is the Shophouse District for restaurants, souvenir shops, diving equipment and rental stores and the like. Second and perhaps more significant is the Boutique Hotel District. Lot buyers here will get to build their own hotel brands or tie up with foreign institutional hotels. This district is particularly enticing because their guests will have access to three private beach coves with one kilometer of pristine white sand.

“Once our Boutique Hotel District institutional investors start building their hotels and launch their accommodations in the next few years, this will partly solve the ‘perfect storm’ that Brown predicts. On the other hand, this also means that more and more foreign tourists will get to experience the pleasures of Boracay as a paradise,” Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI) vice president for marketing and project head Abraham Mercado declared. GERI is the developer behind Boracay Newcoast and is the tourism development arm of Filipino tycoon Andrew Tan.

GERI intends to develop five international and local hotels within Boracay Newcoast to beef up Boracay’s room inventory by 1,500 hotel suites. GERI also intends to transform Boracay into the Ibiza of Asia. Home to Boracay’s first and only pool concert arena, Savoy Hotel Boracay will host various electronic dance music festivals and concerts. Overlooking the pool and bar area is a 400-square-meter dance roof deck capping a row of commercial establishments.

For information, call Megaworld Global-Estate at 904-5580 or visit www.global-estate.ph.