In the recently conducted Hospitality Investment Conference Philippines in Makati City, hotel operators around the world are making plans of expansion and increasing exposure in promising destinations across the Philippines. Singapore-based Vanguard Hotels Group CEO, Bruce Musick, said they are betting their future in this country.

Southeast Asia and Australasia managing director of Platino Group, which is one of China’s leading hospitality groups, Kevin Wallace said, the country’s growth rates has surpassed the rest of the world. Thus, the Philippines is now the “world’s most promising hotel market“.

In July, a luxury hotel by the Platino Group under the Portofino brand is set to open in Boracay. Another 20 properties with about 3,000 rooms will be put up by the company to five different brands in the Philippines in the next three years, said Wallace.

Clark, Davao, Dumaguete and Subic are Platino’s next possible locations aside from Metro Manila and Cebu after Boracay.

Andrew Langdon, Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts’ Senior Vice-President for Asia, has seen a lot of growth in the hospitality market of the country, and that “the market is aware of what the Philippines can offer.”

Mövenpick is also planning to triple its presence in the country for the next five to seven years after a record-breaking 2015. By the latter half of the year, Mövenpick will open a 350-room hotel in Boracay, which will be its second property in the country. Langdon said the company is now looking for destinations such as the Philippine capital, Bohol and Palawan for its next locations.

The largest hotel chain in Spain, Melia Hotels, is also planning to start business in the country focusing on building its presence in the Philippine capital, said Gonzalo Maceda, vice-president for development for Asia-Pacific at Melia Hotels International. An expansion to Bohol and Palawan in the next three years is also being laid down.

Benito C. Bengzon, Jr., Tourism Undersecretary, said the government’s target this 2016 is 6 million tourists around the world. That is about 0.7 million higher than last year.

The country’s tourism industry is also aiming a 10% to 12% share to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines in the next three to five years – that is about 2% to 4% higher than its current share – according to Bengson.

Foreign tourists seek to stay in world-class hotels located in  thriving middle class countries such as the Philippines, and the international hotel operators are capitalizing on this increasing demand.