It’s a dream come true for Bantayan — and for Cebu as a whole.
This was the gist of Gov. Gwen Garcia’s message as she joined Swiss and Filipino businessmen in the groundbreaking on Wednesday, Sept. 6, of what is touted to be the biggest luxury resort project in Bantayan yet, The Ocoy Hotel & Villas.
The project will rise in Brgy. Okoy in Santa Fe town, home of Cebu’s famous pristine, white-sand beaches.
For Gov. Garcia, this project, made possible by Swiss businessman Heinz Zimmermann, is an economic boost not just for Bantayan Island but for the whole Cebu.
“Bantayan had always been a very special place for me even before I became governor in 2004,” the governor shared during the event where she joined officials of PhilSwiss United Holdings Corp., the developer of this massive resort project.
Back then, when Bantayan wasn’t that known yet to tourists, she brought the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo tourism caravan to the island.
Since then, tourists have been lured to the beauty of this white-sand island paradise. And this project coming into reality will mean “a better future for people of Santa Fe,” she said.
Gov. Garcia shared Bantayan’s “unpolluted people, the purity of their hearts, and their warmest smiles” greeting visitors to this island have always captivated her.
The governor is optimistic that this project will all the more spur tourist arrivals in Bantayan as it will also definitely create more jobs and drive economic activities here.
She thanked the people behind this project for making this major stride to make this “Bantayan dream” come true.
It was in 2012 when Zimmermann, together with fellow businessman Stephan Roemer, first showed interest in investing in Bantayan, seeing its immense potential as a tourist destination.
Fast forward, the plan has finally come to fruition as the company starts to build this luxury resort, which is a good addition to the existing resorts portfolio of the island.
Well-known architect Ed Calma will lead the architectural planning and interior design of this extraordinary luxury project which will have 101 villas with pool and a hotel. | Carlo Lorenciana