Sri Lanka’s Mandara Group of Hotels to invest Rs. 1 billion on new hotels
Mandara Group of Hotels of Sri Lanka has reportedly announced that it will invest nearly Rs. 1 billion to build two new hotels in Ella and Haputale as well as to add 20 rooms in Mandara Resort Weligama.
Chairman and Managing Director of Mandara Hotels and Resorts, Sagara Palihawadana, who has been identified as one of the most sought after places in Sri Lanka in three years by the ‘Lonely Plant’ travel Digest, has been quoted as saying in the local media, “Currently we also don’t see a boutique hotel in the magnitude we are planning and hence we decided to extend our footprint to Haputale.”
“We will build 25 individual luxury units in Haputale targeting niche market and will invest around Rs. 380 million,” he has said.
“I am also looking at establishing a hotel in Elle targeting the budget travelers and hope to market each around US$ 50. Under the first stage 20 rooms would be built in a land 3 km away from the city. The investment would be around Rs. 300 million.”
Speaking on his plans on Mandara Resort Weligama he has told Sri Lanka’s state owned daily English newspaper, Daily News, that last three months saw the property mainlining 95% occupancy despite the Coronavirus issues. “The main market was from Europe and CIS countries and we expect this trend to increase next year with the return of Chinese travelers.”
“To meet this growing demand we want to build 20 additional rooms in the hotel’s river side section for which the land is already available. Mandara Resort Weligama which was the first hotel to have a fiber optic swimming pool will also build a second pool in the river side. The total investment would be around Rs. 250 million,” he has said, adding, “Construction of all three projects would start around June and hope to complete them by 2021 September.”
In a bid to add more luxury to the property, the present Madara Resorts Spa is to also be refurbished and converted to a Balinese Spa.
OSL take:
The growth in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry has expanded the business/investment opportunities in the country’s leisure and hospitality market. Sri Lanka continues to be listed as a must visit destination by many globally renowned travel publications resulting in many international brand names showing interest in entering the Sri Lankan market. Sri Lankan authorities are also focused on further promoting Sri Lanka’s tourism industry in the international market. Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is therefore a lucrative business opportunity for foreign businesses/investors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20200312/Z_3 |