Samie Lim, chair of the BIZTour committee of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the two global leaders in the luxury hospitality business are just among the groups of investors eyeing to put up tourism projects in the country.

Should the investments of The Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons push through, these would be on top of the .2 billion tourism investments that have been approved as of last year, the second year of PCCI’s five-year tourism master plan.

According to Lim, these two groups have approached the Department of Tourism after they found out that Shangri-La, another world-class operator of hotels and resort facilities, has massive investments in the country.

These groups were also encouraged by the study of the International Finance Corp. (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, which has identified 60 tourism-related projects in Boracay with project cost of as low as P10 million to P10 billion that are eligible for its financing.

Officials of the Ritz and Four Seasons are reportedly scouting for possible areas in the Boracay main island or in the nearby areas in Aklan.

Lim said that one available area is the titled 400-hectare beach-front property owned by Ambassador Alba in Caticlan.

Among the grand hotels of the world, The Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts are renowned for indulgent luxury. Sumptuous surroundings and legendary service await every guest that passes through our doors.

Its award-winning hotels reflect the 100 years of tradition that stand behind them.

The group has 59 hotels with 18,475 guest rooms in 20 countries with 28,000 employes,

The Ritz-Carlton was established in 1983 with the purchase of The RitzCarlton, Boston and the rights to the name RitzCarlton.

The management company has plans for further expansion in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.

On the other hand, Four Seasons is a leader in luxury hospitality operating a chain of world-class hotels.

Four Seasons has 70 hotels in 31 countries and 20 others under various development stages.

Lim said the private sector and the government are pushing for the development of world-class tourist facilities in Boracay because its beauty has no comparison with the rest of the world making it the country’s sure ticket to be recognized among the top beach resorts of the world that include Bali, Phuket, or the Gold Coast of Australia.

So far, Boracay attracts only 140,000 tourists a year but Lim said it easy to bring in 2 million when all the facilities and promotions are in place.

The PCCI has launched a tourism investment advocacy program to complement the Department of Tourism’s focus on bringing in tourists into the country.

PCCI’s five-year master plan for the tourism industry aims to bring in five million foreign tourists, generate $ 5 billion in tourism receipts, and create five million jobs through billion investments by the fifth year of the program, which is by 2010.

"We are very much on track with our schedule" he said noting that a total of .2 billion in new investments for tourism-related projects have been approved last year.

PCCI president Donald Dee said the PCCI is spending P5 million for its tourism advocacy program this year. Last year, the business group spent P3 million. (BCM)