Dubai hotel chain to set up upmarket resort in Sri Lanka
JA Resorts & Hotels, the UAE’s oldest homegrown hotel brand, is expanding into Sri Lanka with a high end 108-room resort and is in talks to set up a couple of properties in Thailand.
“The Sri Lanka property will come on stream in the country’s East Coast in November 2017,” David Thomson, JA Resorts & Hotels Chief Operating Officer, told this correspondent on Tuesday on the sidelines of the group’s announcement of the new Sri Lankan property at the ongoing Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) in Dubai.
The 30-year old group is also the first UAE hospitality company to both own and manage an upmarket resort in the Maldives. It also has a boutique hotel in the Seychelles in addition to four beachfront properties, a charming mountain retreat and a leisure venue in the UAE.
Asked about other plans in Asia, Thomson said they were in discussions with a ‘family’ in Thailand on legal and other aspects in efforts to set up a couple of properties there. “These discussions are progressing smoothly,” he said but didn’t give any other details.
The Sri Lankan property at Kathiraveli is in partnership with the Gravity Resort Group (GRG) whose director, Deepal Ahangama told a news briefing here that the JA Eclipse Beach Resort Sri Lanka will bring significant social and economic benefits to the local community. “We will be community driven and plan to construct a school for the community in addition to our doctor on site providing free medical services to the people,” he said.
GRG will invest US$ 30 million on the project while JA Resorts & Hotels will be responsible for consultation, and ultimately management of the resort.
Thomson said this will be Sri Lanka’s first high end resort with room rates averaging $500 per night.
The JA Resorts and Hotels CEO said he was blown away by the potential that the Indian Ocean country can offer. “It’s a stunning country, great energy and fantastic beaches,” he added. Sri Lanka’s tourism potential has grown exponentially since the country ended a bloody civil conflict in mid-2009.