Sri Lanka’s BOI in talks with Accor Hotels and Club Med of France for luxury leisure development
Daily FT: As part of a recently-concluded series of nearly 20 high-level discussions held in France, Board of Investment (BOI) Chairman Sanjaya Mohottala met with officials of Accor Hotels and Club Med respectively, to discuss and explore opportunities in luxury leisure development in Sri Lanka.
These bilateral meetings were organised in Paris by leading private sector companies, finance institutions and Government agencies, and the Chairman joined a delegation that comprised Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, State Minister of Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya and SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage.
Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest worldwide. Club Med is a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris, specialising in all-inclusive holidays.
BOI said with Sri Lanka opening its doors and borders to tourism once again, and with potential global investors keen to tap into Sri Lanka as their next investment destination, the country envisages at a minimum, a demand of approximately 30,000 more rooms per annum across the country in the future.
For Accor and Club Med, the potential is further heightened by both SriLankan Airlines and Air France operating three flights per week between Colombo and Paris.
“With all these prospects in the offing, both Accor and Club Med were upbeat about the potential Sri Lanka has to offer both as an internationally viable investment destination, and also, as one of the world’s most attractive tourist destinations and accepted the warm invitation cordially extended by the Sri Lankan delegation to explore a progressive way forward together,” the BOI said.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has received wide attention in the international arena. The country’s tourism authorities have launched a global promotional campaign to boost the tourism industry. Sri Lanka has been listed as a must visit destination by several leading global travel publications and has also been listed among the Top 10 island destinations. All these have resulted in a steady growth in tourist arrivals to the country. The receipt of the internationally recognised safety and hygiene certifications by Sri Lanka’s airports have made Sri Lanka an attractive post Covid travel destination. With Sri Lanka’s promotional campaigns and continuous exploration of new tourism concepts have expanded business/investment opportunities in the country’s tourism industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20211015/Z_1 |