Big plans beyond Manila
Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, who is developing a multibillion-dollar casino resort in Manila’s Entertainment City, hopes to bring casino cruise lines to the Philippines, according to the Manila Business Insider.
“In terms of investment in infrastructure and trying to ensure that the Philippines can be a destination attraction, we will be focusing on many different projects, one of which is cruise ships,” said Maxwell Steele Zetlin, executive director for property marketing at Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment, Inc., Okada’s company.
“We are in discussions with the two largest companies market share in this industry and we are looking to develop with them a way to ensure that we can get cruise ship not only to Manila Bay but to the Philippines and help promote tourism in that sense,” Zetlin told the Asia CEO Forum in Makati City earlier this month.
Okada’s eponymous resort, the $2.4 billion Okada Manila, is his first venture in the Philippines and the fourth and last casino planned for Entertainment City. It is being developed in partnership with Filipino businessman Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuanco, BI reported. Phase I of the development is expected to open before the year ends.
Tiger President Steve Wolstenholme said Okada is bullish on the jurisdiction despite upheaval in the gaming industry since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in the summer. Though the new president has terminating online gambling operations catering to local players, the administration “is keen to promote business, it’s keen to promote tourism, it’s keen to promote the destinations,” said Wolstenholme. “We will support anything this administration wants to pursue and we will certainly be very conscious to the fact that we are very encouraged by the way his administration is promoting Philippines as a destination, promoting the Philippines a business destination as well.”
Cojuangco has said Okada is planning to develop other resorts, golf courses and additional attractions and also bid for international airport projects to support tourism in the country.
“Our chairman is really looking to develop the Philippines, not just Manila, and looking at 7,100 islands as well for future development,” Zetlin said. “These projects are under discussion and will soon be under way.”
