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SAN FERNANDO,
La Union—President Arroyo paved the way for putting this
city and this province on the world tourism map when she
inaugurated a luxury and world-class nine-hole golf
course here Tuesday.
Mrs.
Arroyo led the inauguration of the Thunderbird Resorts
at the Poro Point Free-port Zone along with Tourism
Secretary Joseph Ace Durano and Trade Secretary Peter
Favila.
The
President formally opened the 65.5-hectare resort inside
the former American baseland, where P700 million was
already infused by the multinational resort. The resort
company is expected to cough up some P5 billion in
development projects for the next 20 years, said Raul
Sueiro, Thunderbird chief executive officer for
Philippine operations.
“Increased tourist spending will augur well for the
economy of La Union,” said Narciso Abaya, Bases
Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president
and chief executive operations officer. The Poro Point
Management Corp. is a subsidiary of the BCDA.
Thunderbird has, likewise, infused P55 million for the
completion of the Poro Point International Airport,
which is expected to open in October, and will make the
resort more competitive in terms of tourist arrivals,
especially international, said Sueiro.
La Union
gets little share of international tourists because of
its distance from Manila. It is a five-hour drive from
Manila. However, Cebu, Davao and Palawan have a bigger
share as they have their own airports.
He said
Philippine Airlines has already committed to place
charter flights here, including big planes like Boeing
737.
Moreover, marketing efforts—like negotiations with
Taiwan and South Korean tour companies to include
San Fernando in their tour itinerary—have been made.
Thunderbird Resort-Poro Point offers a casino, a 36-room
hotel and a nine-hole golf course, which is comparable
with some of the world’s best.
But
improvements and upgrade will be introduced in the next
20 years, with the expansion of the hotel to 250 rooms
and the golf course to a regulation 18 hole which was
designed by the International Management Group and
maintained by Sta. Elena Golf Club Inc.
“We are
negotiating for the addition of 20 to 30 hectares of
land to complete our program of work,” Sueiro said
“Thunderbird Resort-Poro Point will offer more jobs to
the people in the community, while we are committed to
implement our community social responsibilities,” added
Sueiro. |
