Hotel investments near Kalanggaman Island sought

PALOMPON, Leyte, June 3 (PNA) –- The business group in this town seeks more investments for accommodation as more tourists flock to their town to explore the picturesque Kalanggaman Island.

Warblitz Martinez, president of Palompon Chamber of Commerce and Industry said they have been inviting investors to visit their town to see the business potentials of their town.

“Existing accommodation facilities only cater few tourists. This is the reason why they cannot spend more in Palompon,” Martinez said.

This town is located in the northwest part of the province, known for Kalanggaman Island, a 45 minute travel away from the mainland that is surrounded by pristine white sand beach and turquoise-blue water. The place is famous for its sandbar.

In 2015, more than 45,000 local and foreign tourists visited the island, which generated more than PHP8 million fees.

“Tourists may visit Kalanggaman, but they could not spend more because most of them don’t stay that long here due to lack of hotel rooms,” Martinez said.

The town has two existing lodging facilities - the Palompon Ecotourism Office and PACCI hotel. Both are not yet accredited by the Department of Tourism.

“If there’s lack of accommodation facilities, economic activity is not vibrant in the mainland,” she said. “We want to encourage tourists to stay longer for them to spend more for the town to earn more,” she said. (PNA)
JMC/SQM/ROEL T AMAZONA/EGR