Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, the Hong Kong-based luxury hotel operator, today revealed details of its pipeline of new luxury properties across the Indian Ocean and Asia at a press conference held during Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2017.

Shangri-La said it will set a new standard for luxury hospitality in Sri Lanka with the opening of  Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo. The hotel will be the most luxurious to open in Colombo in 35 years and will complement the group’s 300-room Shangri-La Hambantota Resort & Spa, which opened in June 2016, it said.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is expanding into Sri Lanka at a time when the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts the country’s travel and tourism GDP will grow 6.3 per cent per year over the coming decade and, by 2026, the industry is expected to be worth $85 billion to the country’s economy.

“We are witnessing the increasing popularity of Sri Lanka, both as a leisure and business destination. In the first quarter of 2017 there were over 500,000 visitors to the country. The target markets are very much aligned with our own, with India boasting the highest number of visitors (84,568) followed by China (79,222) and the UK (59,137),” said Shangri-La executive vice president Michael Cottan, who oversees the group’s portfolio in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas (EMEA).

Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo benefits from a prime location between the Galle Face Green promenade and Beira Lake and boasts uninterrupted views of the Indian Ocean. The site occupies 10 acres of land and is part of a mixed-use development including an office tower, two residential towers and a high-end shopping mall. The hotel will feature 466 guest rooms, 41 serviced apartments and 34 spacious suites, including a Presidential Suite and three speciality suites.

Shangri-La will also introduce its urban lifestyle Kerry Hotels brand to Hong Kong with the opening of Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong on April 28. While, in May, the group will relaunch Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore’s 503-room Tower Wing. In Beijing, the 450-room Hotel Jen Beijing is scheduled to open in June in the central business district (CBD) in Chaoyang.

The group will open three additional properties in China with Shangri-La Hotel, Yiwu scheduled to open in mid-May and Shangri-La Hotel, Xiamen and Shangri-La Hotel, Jinan set to launch in Q3 2017.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is exhibiting at the ATM at stand HC0820. – TradeArabia News Service