Rafaelito Barino, chairman of the Duros Group, said the planned convention center will complement the One Tectona Hotel and the Liloan Golf in the area.
“It will be the new destination for weddings and corporate events. We’d also like to be the venue for Mice activities in the north,” said Barino, during the opening of One Tectona Hotel in Liloan on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. Barino has yet to disclose specific details for the planned convention project.
Such a plan of Duros Group was lauded by Liloan Mayor Aljew Fernando Frasco, who said it was also the concept he had thought of for Liloan—to become a convention hub, in response to the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) challenge for local government units across the country to boost tourism in their respective areas.
Frasco also disclosed that Liloan is setting up its master drainage plan to prepare the town for the surge of business and tourism investments.
Premium hotel
The upscale hotel brand is the tallest structure in Liloan with 14 floors. It is the first four-star premium hotel in northern Metro Cebu that aims to deliver five-star service.
The hotel will feature 102 elegantly designed well-appointed rooms with three categories: deluxe rooms, one-bedroom suites, and an executive three-bedroom suite.
The hotel offers access to Liloan Golf with an 18-Hole Par 72 Championship Course, a new and well-equipped clubhouse, expansive greens, and verdant hills that golfers will enjoy.
“One Tectona is the first high-rise historic building here in the northern part of Cebu. Clearly, it will serve as an impetus for more investors to be encouraged to come to Cebu and invest not only in Cebu but also in the municipality of Liloan,” said Tourism Undersecretary Elaine Bathan.
“We would like to promote One Tectona as a venue for meetings, international conventions, and events. As your undersecretary and together with Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, your very own Liloanon, we will commit to supporting the Duros Group and ensuring that One Tectona and other hotels will get the much-needed exposure as an events place for Mice not just in the Philippines but also in the international [level],” said Bathan.
Hotel features
One Tectona boasts of a spacious function hall that can comfortably seat 80 persons in a banquet setup. It also has an infinity pool, with a vast view of the woodland enclave, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and a game room.
The hotel also features Teak Modern Cuisine, an all-day dining restaurant that can accommodate about 120 persons. It also has an executive boardroom and lounge on the 13th floor that is open for cocktails, date nights, and group meetings and parties for 25 persons.
2023 capex
Duros Group of Companies is earmarking P2 billion to finance the group’s tourism and residential expansions this year.
“We believe that our economy is on the rise. We have seen that it is already happening,” said Rafaelito, noting that it isn’t only the foreign tourists that are pumping sales in local businesses but also the revenge spending and travel among domestic tourists.
Fe Barino, Duros Group president, said the estimated capital expenditure will fund site developments for the expansion plans of the group’s hotels and residential portfolios.
Duros has a landbank of close to 400 hectares.
Under the group’s hotel portfolio are—One Tectona Hotel, Cebu Quincentennial Hotel located on Cardinal Rosales Ave. and Padgette Place located on Molave St. in Cebu City.
The DOT targets to welcome a modest 4.8 million foreign tourists in 2023. As of Feb. 18, the country already logged almost a million arrivals.
“We are confident to reach and even exceed the country’s arrivals this year,” said Bathan.