MANILA — As Metro Manila's hospitality market reaches saturation, Philippine developers are turning to regenerative design to create properties that give back to their environments and communities. The message came through clearly during the headline panel at the ninth Hospitality Philippines Conference, held 9 September at the Marriott Manila.
Moderated by architect Cathy Saldaña of PDP Architects, the session brought together urban planning authority Felino “Jun” Palafox Jnr, Italpinas Development Corporation founder and chairman Romolo Nati, and William Ti Jnr, principal architect at WTA. The discussion centered on how regenerative tourism principles can be embedded into architecture, urban planning, and destination marketing — balancing commercial realities with climate resilience, cultural identity, and community impact.
Celebrating culture beyond beaches
Ti argued that the Philippines' tourism push has leaned too heavily on natural assets. “We always celebrate our beaches and our mountains in many ways because those are easy wins. We have a beautiful landscape, we have so many islands,” he said. But he stressed that the country's unique cultures — shaped by daily interactions and local community integration — deserve equal billing.
Ti also sees opportunity in neglected urban sites. “I think the hotels we're trying to build for the most part, we're trying to integrate into almost brownfield sites to try to regenerate them. There's a sense of gentrification that these are sites that have been neglected for decades,” he said. “If you look at the heart of the city, in the centre of Manila, there's a lot of opportunities for you to introduce hotels that would then generate renewed interest in these areas. The important thing is for us to tie into the surrounding context, the immediate context.”
Palafox: seven challenges to regenerative growth
Palafox, a veteran urban planner, outlined seven hurdles that continue to impede regenerative tourism and hospitality in the Philippines: corruption, governance, criminality, inter-regional order, climate change, poverty, and inequality in infrastructure. These factors, he said, have deterred foreign investment that could have fueled meaningful development.
He also cautioned against losing a sense of place in property design and operations. “Atmosphere and ambience can go together at both the front of house and back of house. Sometimes, the back of the house is more important, as is the way we are treating guests,” Palafox said. He cited the Ritz-Carlton's service ethos as a model: “With every employee of the Ritz-Carlton, it is written behind their ID, 'We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.' It really speaks well of a property or even a developer.”
Mindanao and the provinces: the next frontier
Nati highlighted Mindanao's rapid progress across residential and hospitality sectors, noting that the industry has shifted from its former Metro Manila-centric focus. “Convincing early investors and banks was challenging because the industry was heavily focused on Metro Manila. However, it wasn't difficult to foresee the real estate saturation we are seeing in the capital today,” he said. “We have always believed that the Philippine provinces represent the country's single greatest real estate opportunity. With over 7,400 islands, the Philippines offers an incredible diversity of destinations, not just beaches, as seen in our project in the mountains of Bukidnon.”
To capitalize on that diversity, Nati called for more aggressive international promotion. “While infrastructure has historically lagged behind our ASEAN neighbors, the current scale of airport and transport construction is encouraging,” he said. “Beyond infrastructure, many destinations from Banaue to General Santos suffer from a lack of quality hospitality products, hotels, and resorts. This gap creates an immense commercial opportunity.”
The panel's focus on regenerative design aligns with broader industry trends. Southeast Asia's regenerative tourism push has often stalled amid a fixation on arrival numbers, but Philippine developers are now looking to embed these principles into their projects. Meanwhile, the country's tourism strategy is shifting toward climate-proof infrastructure and new source markets, a move that could support the kind of provincial development Nati envisions.
As Metro Manila's pipeline tightens, the industry's attention is turning to secondary cities and island destinations. With Philippine hotels posting strong occupancy in the first quarter, the demand is there — but the supply must be built responsibly.
