Japanese hotel chain ties up with J Centre Mall, targets 2016 opening

THE Toyoko Inn, a top business hotel chain in Japan, will be opening a hotel in Mandaue City next year.

Everjust Realty Development Corp. (ERDC) president Justin Uy, in an interview, said that they have already started construction of the hotel which will have 583 rooms atop the J Centre Mall along A.S. Fortuna Street in Mandaue City.

Uy said that they have decided to bring in the Japanese brand to offer more options in Cebu as well as to cater to the increasing Japanese travelers who are now frequently in Cebu both for business and leisure.

“The Japanese are also starting to come here more now because of the many direct flights now available to and from Japan,” said Uy.

Once completed, Uy said they will build another tower on top of J Centre Mall which they envisioned to offer office spaces and apartelle units.

“The structure is ready from the ground to the sixth floor. From there we will be building another tower once we complete the hotel,” he said.

According to its website, Toyoko Inn, which was established in 1986, has at least 56 hotel branches in Japan and 6 branches in South Korea as of 2013.

Uy said they also plan to build three more residential condominium towers behind the mall.

The buildings will have 30 floors with 200 units each building with construction work for the project expected to start by early next year.

Uy said they also have Japanese partners for the condominium project.

Based on tourism department’s data, the number of Japanese tourists from January to June this year grew by 23.59 percent, with 130,421 Japanese who visited the region compared to only 105,525 in the same period last year.