Marriott International’s hotel in Sri Lanka – Sheraton Colombo – likely to open this year
Sheraton Colombo, which is part of the world’s largest hotel chain Marriott International, is likely to open by the end of this year depending on the status of the country by that time, according to The Sunday Morning.
Sheraton Construction Project Coordinator Dinesh Arivindra has told The Sunday Morning that even though the construction of Sheraton Colombo has been completed, the date for opening has not been finalised yet by the relevant personnel of Marriott International.
“It’s probably by end this year. Nothing has been finalised due to the prevailing Covid-19 conditions and other external challenges faced by the country. When the tourism sector restarts, the opening is likely to happen to accommodate them,” Arivindra has said.
Sheraton was earlier scheduled to be opened within the first half of 2020, but even to date, neither the developers nor Marriot have confirmed an opening date.
As for the delay, Arivindra has stated that there were plenty of obstacles from the beginning to now in terms of inaugurating the completed project.
He has stated, “Firstly, when the construction began, the neighbours caused an issue which resulted in the Urban Development Authority (UDA) and other officials investigating our work. Secondly, after the project was halfway completed, we were again required to alter our interior designing and redesign the building as demanded by the Sheraton requirements and standards. Finally, Covid-19 had an adverse impact on the opening of the building.”
Arivindra has added that Sheraton is also waiting for the final certification approval by the relevant authorities.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry was one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the country until the Covid 19 pandemic brought about restrictions in global travel. However, with Sri Lanka reopening it’s borders early this year, there has been a gradual increase in tourist arrivals to the country. International airlines operating flights to the country have also increased the number of flights arriving in the country. Sri Lanka has been listed as a must visit destination by several leading global travel publications and has received the safety and hygienic certification making the island an attractive and safe destination for travel. Also, Sri Lanka’s positioning as a fast growing business destination in the South Asian region has also attracted attention of foreign travellers. Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is therefore once again building up as a potential business/investment opportunity in the country.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20210520/Z_8 |