The tourism industry in Subic is likely to reduce the full impact of the global financial crisis, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said.

Because of its own local market niche, SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said that tourism should particularly prove to be resilient amid the expected slowdown.

To bring in more tourism revenue, Arreza said that the SBMA and Subic business locators are beginning to tap the foreign market.

Subic golf course operator Hanafil, for instance, brought in the first planeload of golf players from South Korea under its "golf junket" program.

Arreza said that they are also eyeing the Chinese tourist market, which is expected to reach 100 million by 2015, by building more facilities and adding big draws like nature theme parks and adventure sports attractions.

Ocean Adventure, one of Subic's most popular tourist attractions, is reportedly expanding this year and will build a hotel at the nearby Camayan beach resort which it also operates. Puregold Duty Free, Arreza said, has also embarked on a $50-million expansion program.

Manufacturing, maritime, and logistics

Aside from tourism, core industries such as the logistics, manufacturing, and maritime sectors are expected to keep the Subic Bay Freeport afloat despite threats of the global financial crisis.

In the logistics sector, Philip Morris will be putting up a P1-billion warehouse in Subic this year to expand its tobacco leaf supply hub for Southeast Asia. The facility is expected to accommodate up to 24,500 metric tons of tobacco leaves.

The manufacturing sector is also expected to provide its share in Subic's continued growth, as indicated by expansion projects for factories and construction of new production facilities worth over $25 million. Japanese ATM manufacturer Hitachi Terminals, Taiwanese lock maker Tong Lung, and abrasives producer Tailin are some of the manufacturing firms slated to build and operate bigger facilities this year.

The maritime industry, headlined by shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries Co.-Philippines, is expected to continue boosting Subic's revenue and employment generation programs by turning out 15 new container vessels this year. The company had so far launched four 4,300-TEU container ships that cost around $60 million each from its Subic shipyard, and is expecting a faster pace of production in 2009 with more than 15,000 Filipino workers becoming more familiar with the shipbuilding process.

"By and large, Subic's core industries will see it through this economic slowdown," Arreza said in a statement.

Arreza said that the tourism, manufacturing, and maritime sectors contributed the bulk of the P4.21-billion total investments that the SBMA approved in December 2008. The new investments, he said, brought total committed investments in Subic to $5.75 billion as of end-2008, and are expected to add at least 1,000 new jobs to Subic's 85,000-strong work force.

While admitting that Subic's growth may be flat in the short term, "especially for certain companies in the manufacturing sector," Arreza said there could be growth opportunities in the lean months as firms outside Subic shift production to the cost-competitive freeport.

"We expect modest gains — then possibly, full recovery in two to three years, as the new investment projects we signed in last year begin to kick off," he said.