Property giant optimistic on Cebu tourism growth

CEBU, Philippines — Property giant Megaworld is poised to spend more investments in Cebu, as it starts the construction of its Phase-2 masterplan inside the 30-hectare Mactan Newtown township in Lapu-Lapu City.During its recent visit to Cebu, Megaworld chief strategy officer Kevin Tan expressed his optimism about Cebu’s tourism growth, saying the phase-2 development of Mactan Newtown will build more tourism-related facilities.

“We are now focusing on the second phase of our strategy, which is now developing The Mactan Newtown towards the ocean, and that is hinged on tourism,” said Tan in his speech during the groundbreaking of the P1.5 billion Mactan Expo Center.

During the event, which was graced by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Tan also announced another investment of P1.2 billion for the creation of Mactan World Museum at the township.

“Now that we have completed the first phase, the central business segment or the corporate part of the township,” Tan said referring to the establishments of hotels, residential and office buildings, as well retail outlets within the township.

Megaworld has already built two hotels with more than 1,000 combined room keys in The Mactan Newtown—The Belmont Hotel and Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown.

“Our hotel portfolio in this township will be further expanded, and we will double our hotel room keys in the coming years as we look to leverage the continued growth of Cebu’s tourism and hospitality industry,” said Tan hinting that the company will announce more developments in the pipeline soon.

He mentioned that Megaworld is developing The Mactan Newtown to be the leading “work-ation” destination in the Central Visayas region. Situated on a beachfront, the township already features eight offices and nine residential towers.

Meanwhile, Megaworld reported a net income of P5.0 billion during the first quarter of 2024, a significant 10 percent increase from the same period last year. Net income attributable to shareholders of the parent company stood at P4.4 billion, marking an eight percent growth year-on-year.

Consolidated revenues grew by 16 percent to almost P19 billion as core businesses registered solid growth during the period.

Real estate sales surged by 29 percent to P12.1 billion, driven by strong bookings and unit sales, while leasing revenues grew six percent to P4.6 billion during the quarter compared to the same period last year.

Megaworld Lifestyle Malls revenues soared by 20 percent to P1.5 billion, driven by higher tenant sales and improved occupancy of 93 percent, while Megaworld Premier Offices revenues were on the same level at P3.2 billion.

On the other hand, Megaworld Hotels & Resorts revenues, grew by 39 percent to P1.1 billion compared to P813 million in the same period last year. This rapid rise was largely buoyed by the growth of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) activities and local tourism especially in Boracay Newcoast, highlighted by the strong bookings of the Boracay Newcoast Convention Center during the period. The Boracay Newcoast Convention Center is considered to be the most modern and one of the biggest MICE facilities in Boracay Island today with a seating capacity of 1,200.

“We started 2024 by consolidating our strength and forging stability for our core businesses as we look forward to many more opportunities for growth in the coming years.  This year, we hope to finish 2024 with 35 townships to coincide with our 35 years in the Philippine real estate industry,” said Tan, who is also the chief executive officer, Alliance Global Group, the parent company of Megaworld.

To date, Megaworld has 31 master?planned integrated urban townships, integrated lifestyle communities, and lifestyle estates across the country, including The Mactan Newtown.