Aitken Spence to invest in India

Hiran SENEWIRATNE in Berlin

Aitken Spence Hotels will go for a joint venture hotel project with an Indian hotel company Floatels India Limited in Cochin.

The total investment would be around US $ eight million and Aitken Spence will undertake the management of the entire hotel under the agreement, Managing Director of the Indian partner M. R. Narayanan told the Daily News Business.

He said that Sri Lanka is currently going through a crisis period resulting in temporary setbacks but will bounce back soon due to good synergies between Indian and other markets in the world.

This joint venture would be a 50% partnership and Floatels India is one of the up and coming hotel chains in India. Narayanan said Aitken Spence Hotels already manage their resorts in India. “We jointly hope to invest in other countries in the Leisure Sector,” he said.

At present they manage two leading hotels in Delhi and two more will open shortly including another resort in the Andaman Islands.

Aitken Spence Hotels Deputy General Manager, Pradeep de Alwis said this is an excellent opportunity to promote Indian tourists to Sri Lanka.

“The Indian middle class is traveling overseas more frequently. Therefore, Sri Lanka too could take a major share from this emerging market,” he said.

Managing Director Aitken Spence Travel, Gehan M Perera said they are heavily investing in Maldives, India and Oman markets in addition to European markets to attract more tourists to Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, German tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka had increased by 20 per cent from last November compared to previous years.

Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism Renton de Alwis said Germany was the number one in the tourism market in 1982. However the arrivals had decreased from time to time but now they are increasing.

“Despite the security concerns in the North and East, we were able to achieve a 20 per cent growth in the sector, which is an achievement,” he said.

De Alwis speaking at a media event organised by Sri Lanka Tourism for the foreign media yesterday said Sri Lanka is promoting the concept of mind, body and wellness.

Alwis said that in another 10 years time Sri Lanka will be a carbon free destination and tourism and environment will go together.