Spa pursues expansion

Friday, February 6, 2009

BELIEVING the country’s potential in medical tourism has yet to be fully tapped, the Spa at Cebu continues to pursue its expansion plans despite the global economic crisis.

Spa at Cebu will soon open a two-level facility at The Terraces in Ayala Center Cebu while work on a six-level spa-hotel in Banilad, Cebu City continues.

The family corporation behind the Spa at Cebu will also open in the middle of this year another facility at the Medical City in Metro Manila.

Early this week, it started operating an exclusive spa at the City Sports Club, Cebu Business Park. The spa is open to City Sports Club members and their guests.

“The timing may not be right (to do all these), but we are passionate in everything we do and we believe that even in a crisis, there are opportunities,” said Johnny Siao, one of the owners of Spa at Cebu.

Long-time plans

Besides, plans for the spa-hotel have been made long before the financial crisis spread worldwide, he said.

The future hotel building will also house restaurants and a coffee shop on the lower floors. Hotel rooms will be situated on the top floors to afford guests a view of the surrounding area. The building will also house basement parking.

The Spa at Cebu has set the building’s completion at the end of the year. At the moment, the spa owners are on the lookout for the right company that will manage the hotel.

Aside from its other projects, the Spa at Cebu has also enhanced its facilities at the first branch in Banilad, Cebu City. It now has two suites for clients who want to stay overnight or longer while enjoying the usual services of the spa.

It also opened a function room where groups and companies can hold meetings or conferences. The room can be used free of charge if a group avails itself of a certain number of services at the spa.

Growth

Siao is confident that the tourism industry, in general, will continue to grow, particularly in medical tourism and in Cebu. To pave the way for further growth in the industry, he said, the Philippines should be more accessible to foreign travelers.

“There should be more direct flights to the Philippines from Europe,” he said, citing Thailand. “Government and the private sector have to work together, to improve infrastructure—like airports and roads—and services.”

When the country attracts more tourists, more investments in the tourism sector will come in as well, he said.

“Tourism will continue to grow because we have an edge that other Asian countries don’t have,” he said, citing scenic sites in the Philippines. “For now, it may have slowed down but it will not stop. It will recover as soon as the crisis ends.”

Although the popularity of Spa at Cebu ebbed before and during the construction of the flyover in Banilad because of traffic congestion, the volume of clients going to the establishment has started to increase. The spa hopes more clients will come in when the roads on both sides of the flyover will be repaired.

To prepare for this projected rise in customer traffic, the Spa at Cebu expanded its parking lot.

Siao remains confident about the Spa at Cebu despite stiff competition amid the financial turmoil. He said Spa at Cebu offers the “real spa experience” because it is located in a quiet area surrounded by trees and offers all necessary facilities—whirlpools, sauna and steam rooms.

“We are not just a massage center. Here, you can really relax,” he said. (LAP)