Major Sri Lankan Hotel Chains are pumping in approximately AED 18 billion
into new projects
The hotel industry will experience a 45% influx in room capacity
The double-digit growth of inbound tourism to Sri Lanka has sparked a
massive hotel expansion drive by several hotel giants, including
refurbishment of existing hotels and major development plans in the
pipeline announced Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau’s (SLTPB) Middle East
office.
Total hotel expansion and development spending is estimated at AED 18
billion while projected inbound tourism arrival is expected to cross 2.5
million by 2016.
The boom in tourism is projected in the wake of increased demand for hotel
rooms post conflict resolution. All this will help accommodate the
exponential increase in tourist arrival expected.
In the Middle East alone, tourism arrivals for the first six months of 2010
reported an enormous surge in the number of Saudi Arabian travellers to Sri
Lanka, according to figures compiled by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion
Bureau’s (SLTPB) Middle East office. “Arrivals rose by an unprecedented 96
per cent in the first six months of 2010 compared to the same period last
year,” said Ms. Heba Al Mansoori, Middle East Director of SLTPB based in
Dubai. According to recent statistics compiled by the Sri Lanka Tourism
Development Authority, the total number of travellers from the Middle East
region reflected a phenomenal upsurge with arrivals increasing by 102 per
cent over the same period.
“Regardless of apprehensions of an unsteady global economy, Middle East’s
discerning travellers are spending time and money on travel and Sri Lanka
has been one of the preferred destinations of choice with a meteoric rise
in tourists during H1 2010,” observed Ms Al Mansoori.
John Keells Holdings (JKH) invested AED 13 million (400 million LKR) to
upgrade and rebrand Club Oceanic to Chaaya Blu in Trincomalee. The group
has currently undertaken an AED 65.4 million (2 billion LKR) investment on
a new 4 star 190-room hotel in the Beruwela area. Coral Gardens in
Hikkaduwa, Bentota Beach and Habarana Lodge are all being given a facelift
with the total renovation costing up to AED 49 million (1.6 billion LKR).
The chain also has lands in Ahungalla, Wirawila and Nilaweli, upon which
new properties are planned.
Amaya Resorts and Spas development process is to be carried out in 4
stages. This includes to firstly developing the existing properties which
is estimated at AED 36.7 million (USD 10 million). Next step would be to
develop the available land bank. The identified areas are – Wadduwa at a
cost of AED 55 million (USD 15 million), Kalpitiya at a cost of AED 55
million (USD 15 million), Mirissa at a cost of AED 110 million (USD 30
million), Negombo at AED 110 million (USD 30 million). The total investment
that is projected for this 2nd stage of development is approximately AED
330.5 million (USD 90 million)
Jetwing is all set to spend AED 23 million (LKR 700 million) on rebranding
and refurbishing Blue Oceanic as Jetwing Blue. Besides this the chain will
spend approximately AED 16.3 million (Rs. 500 million) at Sea Shell which
will be converted to Jetwing Sea and AED 13 million (Rs. 400 million) will
be spent at Blue Lagoon. Jetwing Blue and Jetwing Sea are slated to open
their doors for business in December this year.
“Given the rapid growth of tourism in Sri Lanka, Jetwing seeks to refurbish
its current properties and expand its room stock through new ventures. In
respect of refurbishment, Jetwing has made a conscious effort to upgrade
all its properties gradually to a 4 -5 star (small luxury) properties.
Already the Jetwing Blue & Jetwing Sea is underway! As regards new hotel
ventures, Jetwing has planned to occupy ‘white spots’, by locating and
developing new similar standard hotels in the East Coast, Yala, Kandy,
Jaffna and Colombo, while offering to manage several other properties in
the island”, states, Hiran Cooray, Chairman Jetwing Group.
Tourist arrivals have increased to nearly a staggering 48 percent for the
month of July alone when compared with June 2009. The first half of 2010
has registered a 48.4 percent increase in inbound tourism when compared to
the same period in 2009.
Comments are closed.