Location Location Location
Strategically located in the middle of Palawan’s western coast, San Vicente gives tourists unprecedented access to Palawan’s most popular tourist destinations. It is merely 1.5 hours drive away from world-renowned El Nido, which can easily become a day trip for those who decide to stay in the San Vicente area. It is also just over a 2-hour drive from Puerto Princesa and with new roads in construction, Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be a much faster drive to and from San Vicente.
Airport and Road Infrastructure
With a brand new airport in operation and a comprehensive road network planned and in various stage of construction, easy access to San Vicente through air and land is a huge advantage against other competitive tourist locations in the Philippines and other SE Asian nations. As Palawan becomes a busier tourist destination, San Vicente will surely benefit from the influx of new visitors with an international airport in close proximity (El Nido airport is privately run and more expensive to fly in and out of) and world class tourism infrastructure development to boost.
Flagship Tourism Enterprise Zone
Learning from the demise of island destinations like Boracay, Bali and Phuket, TIEZA led the development of San Vicente as its first flagship TEZ in 2016 with the Master Plan designed by Palafox Associates. The establishment of the San Vicente Palawan Master Plan is a critical step in ensuring that investments like roads, an airport and seaport, water, drainage and sewerage system, and power facilities are implemented early on as catalysts for development. This Master Plan ensures the growth of San Vicente will be planned and managed appropriately, without compromising the natural beauty that attracted investors and visitors to the area in the first place.
Wildlife and Marine Ecosystem
San Vicente is endowed with white sand beaches, coral reefs, islands and islets, waterfalls, vast forest cover, mangroves, and varied endemic flora. San Vicente serves as habitat for 23 of the 25 wildlife species found in the island of Palawan. Sea turtles (“pawikan” in Tagalog) are amongst the endemic marine life frequently spotted around the beach of San Vicente. They lay eggs on the beaches and if you’re lucky enough to be there at the right season, you can see them hatch and make their way back to the ocean.
Longest White Beach in the Philippines
Fondly called “Long Beach” by the locals in San Vicente, it holds up to its moniker with 14.7 km (9.1 mi.) of sugary white sand beach with 2 rocky cliffs that divide it into 3 coves. The Flagship TEZ centres the San Vicente tourism development around Long Beach, benefiting from the government’s investment on infrastructure and establishment of the San Vicente Palawan Master Plan.
World-Renowned Palawan
As a recipient of numerous ‘Best Beaches’ awards from top travel publishers and audience-voted lists in recent years, Palawan is finally gaining the recognition it truly deserves. It is a compelling destination for families and groups seeking a balance of adventure and holiday relaxation. Discovering nature and wildlife within this tropical climate ignites a passion for protecting our precious environment through eco-travel and conservation awareness.
Growth-Level Investments
The average beach front prices in Palawan (PHP15,000/sqm) are well below that of Boracay’s (PHP45,000/sqm) but projected to exceed it in 2024. The opportunity to yield positive ROI through land banking, building and selling, as well as resort/hotel development and operations are plentiful, with more room to grow in the next 5-10 years.
Investor Incentives
As part of the San Vicente designation as Flagship TEZ, the Philippine government has extended a variety of fiscal incentives for TEZs until 2029. Among the top incentives are 1) income tax exemption for a period of 6 years, 2) tax and duty free importation of capital and equipment, transportation equipment and spare parts, goods and services and 3) tax deduction equivalent to fifty percent (50%) of the cost of environmental protection or cultural heritage, preservation activities, sustainable livelihood programs, and other similar activities as approved by the TIEZA Board.
Tourism Potential
If all goes to plan, TIEZA’s vision for tourism development in San Vicente will enable the region to take in 100,000 tourists in 2018 to 10M in 25 years (2044). Taking into account the increase in tourist arrivals, airport statistics and the upcoming international flight connection, Palawan will require massive beach resort developments. In terms of land size, Palawan is almost three times the size of Bali while Boracay is only 1/100 of its size. The land mass of Palawan outnumbers both Bali and Boracay including the number of beaches, islands and development potential.
Palawan’s Natural Resources
Palawan holds 414 million metric tons of nickel deposits and is believed to be sitting on top of what could be the largest oil and natural gas deposits in the world. And, its natural gas reserves are 2.5 trillion cubic meters, capable of providing 3,000 megawatts of clean energy for the Luzon grid over a 20-year period. Palawan is entitled to a 40-percent share of all the revenues from the Malampaya gas project which is worth P90 billion of future infrastructure projects for Palawan alone.
PREMIER PALAWAN DEVELOPERS
Ayala Land Corporation
Developer of luxury resorts in El-Nido.
Century Properties
Putting up a 20 billion PHP resort in San Vicente.
Megaworld International
Invested in San Vicente and other parts of Palawan.
Discovery Group
Acquired 20 hectares of land for development in San Vicente.
AmanResorts International
Invested in what is known as the most luxurious resort in Palawan, Amanpulo.
Best Western
Invested in beach front hotel resort in San Vicente.