Bizman invests on medical tourism

By Cris Evert Lato
Cebu Daily News
Posted date: May 27, 2009

Cebu Daily News / Enterprise
After cashing in on adventure tourism when he set up the Sky Experience Adventure series last year, Cebuano businessman Richard L. King is investing on another tourism-related sector – medical tourism.

King, chairman of J. King and Sons Company, Inc. said the company would open diagnostic screening center on the seventh and eighth floors of the Crown Regency Hotels and Towers in Osmeña Boulevard in the fourth quarter of the year.

“The concept is to provide comfort and convenience for medical tourists. What they’ll just do is to check in the hotel and wake up in the morning knowing that they can step in a screening center inside the hotel without to endure long waiting lines,” he said.

King said the company has partnered with a major hospital organization but has yet to firm up the contract and the memorandum of agreement.

He said the 2,000 square meter facility (1,000 square meters per floor) will also cater to walk-in clients and Club Ultima members, a club membership structure which the company also runs.

King said this facility also works to the advantage of club members who can pay for their executive check-ups in advance and save on costs.

“The trend today is towards health consciousness and that’s what we’re getting at for this new facility,” King told Cebu Daily News in an interview last week.

The Sky Experience Adventure included entertainment facilities, such as the edge coaster ride and sky observatory at the top floors of the company’s Crown Regency Hotel in Fuente Osmena.

Apart from this recent developments, King said the company continues to invest on multi-million tourism developments in at least six Philippine locations to increase the country’s bid to become the top tourist destination worldwide.

He said long term plan is to put up diagnostic screening centers in other tourism projects.

These developments include those located in Cebu, Boracay Island in Aklan, Davao and Makati. There are also planned investments for Panglao Island, Bohol and Tagaytay City located in the provinces of Cavite and Batangas.

King said they are working towards creating a fully-integrated tourism business banking on the company’s strength as a player in the real estate and hospitality industries since 1991.

In Cebu, the company owns Crown Regency Hotels and Towers and Club Ultima in Osmeña Boulevard and two other Crown Regency hotels in barangay Guadalupe, Cebu and Lapu-Lapu City.

The company also owns three resorts in Boracay Island. These are the newly-opened Crown Regency Resort in station 3, Crown Regency Resort and Convention Center in station 2 which is undergoing construction and Crown Regency Prince to be opened this month in station 1.

King said they are still in the planning stage on what specific projects to establish for the existing properties in Panglao and Tagaytay.

The company started with Prince Court Hotels and Suites in 1991.

The company also owns Best Inn, First Laundy Services, MetroSports Center and Vital-C health products among others.

Bizman Invests On Medical Tourism

Sky Adventure in Fuente

By Cris Evert Lato
Cebu Daily News

Posted date: May 25, 2009

http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20090525-206991

Sky Adventure in Fuente

For years, white sand beaches and rich cultural heritage are two main reasons why tourists come to Cebu.

But today, there is another reason why tourists are in Cebu: the edge coaster ride on top of Cebu’s tallest tower.

“People now come to Cebu to experience how it is to be on top of Cebu’s tallest tower riding a coaster or watching the scenery from above,” said Richard King, chairman of J. King and Sons Company Inc., which is the prime mover of the activities under the brand Sky Experience Adventure.

King, who graduated summa cum laude in Chemical Engineering from the University of San Carlos in 1979, said the Sky Experience Adventure series was launched in December 2008.

The adventure experience includes the edge coaster ride, sky walk extreme and sky observatory among others. The activities are all located in Tower 1 of Crown Regency Hotels and Towers in Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City.

The adventure series attracted Pinoy boxing champion, Manny Pacquiao, who was in Cebu last Sinulog.

King said putting up the extreme adventure experience “in the heart of Cebu’s tallest tower” had been planned since he decided to put up the hotel-tower property.

“We want to make this a landmark of Cebu. In two to three years, this may not be the tallest tower here anymore. Having this whole range of sky adventure activities will place us in a strategic position,” said King who has a master’s degree in business management from the Asian Institute of Management in 1983.

SKY EXPERIENCE

About $5 million was invested for the sky experience adventure series, said King.

This investment is growing as they aim to improve the services to suit the adventurous needs of the public.

King said an American company, which put up the different rides in Las Vegas, was commissioned to install the edge coaster ride located on the 38th floor and the sky walk, 127 meters above the street.

King said the company takes pride on the edge coaster ride as the world’s first and the only amusement ride of its kind.

The coaster ride literally goes around the edge of the building. The riders are locked into the rail seats, which can be tilted at 55 degrees.

“We are elevating the level of the hospitality industry to entertainment. It is no longer just rooms or banquets and the concept of sky adventure fits in this entire concept,” he said.

Entrance to the sky observatory costs P380 for non-peak hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and P480 for peak hours (4 p.m. onwards). The fee is good for two people and inclusive of a sky meal — bottomless drinks and a sandwich.

Online bloggers have posted positive reactions on the edge coaster ride, which is at P500 during non-peak hours and P600 for peak hours. The fee is also good for two people.

For the faint-hearted, the sky observatory, also on the 38th floor, offers an alternative. Coin-operated binoculars and telescopes are available or tourists and visitors can enjoy the view at the tower’s Sky Bar.

About 40 people, including the operators and maintenance personnel, were trained by employees of the American company, who installed the edge coaster ride.

“Safety is secured for all rides and activities. The system is monitored in the US and through the Internet, they know what’s going on–how many took the ride and in what time,” he said.

INNOVATION

An additional feature, which is gaining attention, is the 4D Theatre on the 18th floor where viewers can see, feel, hear and move with the movie.

The audience can watch three movies which last for close to 30 minutes. The fee is from P450 to P600 depending on the viewing time.

“This is innovation and all these put us up ahead of the competition. Innovation is a characteristic of the different ventures of the company,” said King.

King said another ride, called an “insanity orbit,” will also be in place two years from now.

As the company develops more properties nationwide, King hopes to bring the concept of the sky experience.

Taking inspiration from his father, Don Jesus Amado King, he said making people aware and appreciate these innovations would be the primary challenge.

He said he also should not wait for tomorrow to do things that can be done today.

But before making any decision, King said it pays to anticipate for any eventuality by gathering the right information — the same learning concepts he applied in making the breathtaking sky experience adventure activities a reality for Cebu.