Resort recalls, upskills employees

NOW that tourism business in Cebu has started to pick up with better performance from last year, a luxury resort in Lapu-Lapu City has started recalling its employees who were laid off at the height of the pandemic.The five-star resort is also beefing up its marketing efforts in a bid to attract old and new markets that have opened up their borders to do business with the Philippines while renovating and repairing some of its rooms destroyed by Typhoon Odette (Rai) on Dec. 16, 2021.“We are anticipating a strong rebound in tourism,” said Plantation Bay Resort and Spa general manager Cherry Allego.Allego said the management is giving priority to former employees to return for work as it is also actively seeking for new hires for the housekeeping and food and beverage departments.Since July 2020, the resort has rehired 42 employees and hired 77 new ones. It now has a headcount of 358 employees, both regular and probationary from over 400 employees before the pandemic.Allego said even at the height of a weak tourism business climate, the management took care of its employees. The resort even partnered with business process outsourcing firms so laid off workers could land jobs right away.“Now we are slowly getting them back. Majority has returned,” she said. “We are also hiring new ones.”But old and new employees of the resort will need to undergo new training under the new normal especially since post-pandemic travelers have new demands.Plantation Bay was also one of those businesses that was quick to pivot while tourism business took a plunge. It opened its canning business dubbed Plantation Prime. The resort’s Call Us Home feature also became a big hit. This is an assisted living package offered height of the pandemic where locals and foreigners made the resort as their “new home” following the different levels of lockdowns.Besides upskilling its staff, the resort has been beefing up its marketing efforts to court old and new markets while repairing some rooms damaged by Typhoon Odette.At present, Allego said they’ve started to pursue the Japanese and Korean markets while keeping an eye on new countries that are open to do business with the Philippines or have relaxed their travel restrictions.Reopening of roomsAllego also announced that full reopening of its 255-rooms, after Typhoon Odette hit the property, is slated early next year although they are gradually reopening some rooms in time for the holiday season.For now, the resort has about 157 rooms to sell. Others are undergoing renovation and repair but rooms in some buildings will be opened by November and December.“Typhoon Odette was a big challenge for us,” Allego said.Amid the challenges encountered by the resort, Allego said they remained bullish knowing that sooner or later business will be back to the pre-pandemic days.“We just need to organize and market a worry-free travel for foreign tourists to come,” she said.The country’s tourism industry contributed about 12.8 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 prior to the pandemic. Foreign arrivals during the period was at 8.3 million.Allego said chartered flights with tour inclusions between countries that are open for tourism could be a big help for tourism recovery.“There is so much that they (foreign tourists) can do here and in the Visayas. We just need to organize one,” she said.The opening of the third bridge or the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway also bodes well for the resort’s business. “It’s really helpful for Plantation Bay with that we are only 30 minutes away from the city,” she said.Plantation Bay is an 11.4 hectare sprawling resort property. The resort ranked sixth in the list of Best Beach/Upcountry Resort in the Philippines by Travel+Leisure magazine released on June 27, 2022 after Amanpulo (first), Shangri-La Boracay (second), The Farm at San Benito (third), El Nido Resorts Lagen Island (fourth), Nay Palad Hideaway Siargao (fifth). Completing the top 10 were Lihim El Nido (seventh), Inara Siargao (eight), Shangri-La Mactan Cebu (ninth) and El Nido Miniloc Island (10th).DOT budgetMeanwhile, the Department of Tourism (DOT) got the nod of the lower chamber for its proposed budget for the fiscal year 2023.The DOT and its attached agencies and corporations have a total recommended budget amounting to P3.573 billion which is 27.87 percent higher than this year’s appropriations.However, this amount is only a .068 percent share of the government’s proposed 2023 National Expenditure Program vis-a-vis the tourism industry’s P2.5 trillion contribution to the country’s GDP.In a prior hearing, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco disclosed that the agency originally requested P12 billion from the Department of Budget and Management to facilitate the successful implementation of the various programs aimed at the industry’s revival.