Marriott International announces its first hotel in Sri Lanka
US based Marriott International said in a statement that it has signed up with Sri Lanka's East West Properties Plc, to open a 200-room hotel in Weligma, in 2014.The 11-storey Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa, will be operated under Marriott's flagship Marriott Hotels & Resorts brand.
"Sri Lanka is a destination that has great potential and opportunity and we hope to capitalise on that and establish a strong presence in the country," Simon Cooper, president and managing director Marriott, Asia Pacific said in a statement on the Mariott International website.
"The resort is being built according to Marriott International's five star brand standards, with a beach frontage of 115 meters on the Galle-Matara road in the South-East of the country," East West chairman Nahil Wijesuriya said in the statement.
"The construction is being carried out in-house by East West Engineering Services (Pvt) Ltd. so we have direct control of every aspect of the construction of the resort and are confident that it will be of the highest standards and quality."
With some 640sq metres of flexible ballroom space, the hotel should prove extremely popular in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition (MICE) market. While those travelling to Weligama Bay Marriott Resort & Spa on holiday, will be able to take full advantage of the wide leisure offering at the hotel which includes three restaurants, a pool with a pool bar, spa, fitness centre and a beautiful stretch of beach.
"We see great opportunity in Sri Lanka with ever-increasing visitor numbers to the country," continued Cooper. "While India, UK and Germany are the largest source markets for hotels in Sri Lanka; the Middle East and Russia are the emerging source markets and with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority ("SLTDA") aiming to achieve a target of 2.5 million tourist arrivals by 2016 we are confident of attracting great leisure and business guests to the property."
