Department of Tourism Secretary Ace Durano is optimistic that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) flagship project, the Bagong Nayong Pilipino-Entertainment City Manila, will add great value to the Philippines in terms of its tourism attractions, and commented in an interview during the opening of the 17th Philippine Travel Tour Expo 2010 last month: “I look forward to the completion of the Entertainment City. It will definitely add to the country’s appeal as a tourist destination.”

The brain child of PAGCOR Chairman Efraim C. Genuino, E-City Manila is touted to be the country’s biggest tourism project. This US $15 Billion entertainment and leisure complex is set to rival the best in the world, such as those in Macau and Las Vegas. “This project aims to put the country in the map as a premiere leisure and entertainment hub.” Genuino said.

Durano likewise extolled the increasing demand for tourism and its related industries in the country, adding: “The tourism sector has continued to register growth for the past few years. Last year, we had around nine million tourists flocking to the country’s tourist spots. We can at least expect a 15% growth for 2010.”

Almost a decade his appointment as the head of PAGCOR, Genuino maintains that the Bagong Nayong Pilipino-Entertainment City Manila project is on track after its ground breaking ceremony of April 2008, and insists that this may be the economic miracle that the Philippines has been waiting for. Upon completion, the project is expected to boost tourist arrivals in the country to over three million annually, while generating at least 250,000 new jobs and dramatically increasing government revenues.

Some would say that his idea for building a fully-integrated entertainment and leisure complex on 120-hectares of reclaimed land in the Manila Bay area is too much of a gamble, but Genuino is trusting his instincts that, and says: “This project represents a shift for Pagcor from gaming to entertainment,” Since he took over the helm of the state-owned gaming firm in 2001, the PAGCOR chief has relentlessly campaigned for the Entertainment City, which could be described as a world-class playground to entice tourists from all corners of the world. Among its prime components will be theme parks, casinos, colossal shopping and a convention center, theaters, 6-star hotels, a marina, ocean park, museums, a racetrack, a transport system that links to the NAIA airport, and one of the tallest observation towers to be built in the world.

Genuino added: “Long before Las Vegas entered Macau and long before Singapore began thinking about integrated resorts, the Philippines was the first to envision such a project. Our country’s advantage over all others is our strategic location. We are only between one to four hours away from key cities in Asia. This provides a huge potential market for the Philippines.”

Genuino is conscious of the success of similar gaming destinations like Las Vegas and Macau, but he has always aspired for something better and surpass other integrated resort developments overseas: “I have envisioned Entertainment City not only as a tourism-generating project. It will drive progress at all fronts – from employment, construction, information technology, F&B, hospitality, entertainment, and transportation, among other tourism and gaming-related ventures”.

Durano believes on the enormous potential of his country’s attraction and commented: “We have set a target of 5 million tourist arrivals by 2010, and with projects like Entertainment City, this figure should be attainable.” (E-03.05.10)

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