OVER 4,300 room keys are expected to open in the fourth quarter of the year, showing a renewed confidence by hospitality investors in the Philippines.
In a recent news briefing, Leechiu Property Consultants Director of Hotels, Tourism, and Leisure Alfred Lay added that the country’s recent enactment of a 99-year land lease law for foreigners, or Republic Act No. 12252, will likely spur more investors in the sector. ‘The [new law] is expected to drive greater interest in integrated resorts and hotel developments, especially in well-connected hubs such as Metro Manila, Cebu, and Clark,’ he said.
‘The true effects of the 99-year leases will emerge over the next three to five years, as projects take shape,’ he noted. RA 12252 allows foreigners to lease land in the Philippines for 99 years straight, an improvement from a previous law that restricted said leases to just 50 years.
‘These leases give global investors long-term security, greater tradability, and opportunities to capture growth in resorts, mixed-use developments, and REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust)-ready assets,’ explained Lay.
New keys still in Metro Manila
He said the Philippines may go the way of Maldives in terms of attracting foreign direct investments (FDI) in the tourism and hospitality sector, specifically from institutional investors. ‘Palawan, over time, will emerge as the Philippines’s top luxury resort investment destination, defined by its striking geography, turquoise waters, abundant tourism potential,’ he said.
Per Lay’s presentation, more than 45 percent of the hotel openings in the last three months of the year, or 1,946 keys, will be in Metro Manila. ‘Majority of the additional hotel keys in 2025 are under local brands, reflecting the domestic operators’ agility in capturing rising demand. [The openings] also show healthy growth and a mix of new of brands entering the Philippines market,’ he added.
These new openings include Marriott International’s AC Hotel Ortigas (150 rooms) and Fairfield by Marriott Cebu (196 rooms), Chancellor Hotel in Boracay (554 rooms), Swiss-Belhotel International in Baguio (216 rooms), among others.
Meanwhile, Lay said he maintains his 6-million foreign visitors estimate for the year, considering the ‘steep declines’ in key markets such as South Korea. ‘While there are signs of resilience, no significant shifts have yet created real momentum in foreign arrivals. Without a major catalyst, arrivals are unlikely to surpass 2024 levels.’
Domestic trips to hit 62M in 2026
He noted that the United States, Japan, and Australia ‘are emerging as stronger contributors, reflecting changing travel patterns and opportunities to diversify source markets.’
Foreign visitor arrivals barely reached 4 million in the eight months to August, with overseas Filipinos at 361,456, helping boost the numbers, data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed.
Domestic travel, however, will continue to strengthen, reaching 58.7 million by yearend, and rising to 62.2 million in 2026, as economic growth, as expressed in gross domestic product, hits 7.63 percent in 2025 and 5.8 percent next year.
‘With the anticipated growth in domestic and long-haul tourism, along with increased hospitality FDIs driven by the newly-approved 99-year lease to foreign investors, the tourism sector is poised to strengthen its position as a key investment area and a vital pillar of the Philippine economy,’ said Lay.