Lotus Leisure Management (ETM) a specialist Hotel & Resort Marketing Company will invest over Rs. 4 billion to build three hotels introducing the concept of Hotel Residences to Sri Lanka.
Chairman ETM Leisure, Dasun Wickramarathna said that they have already started construction of the first project in Negombo and this will be open at the end of next year. I will use my own funds and 20% borrowings for this investment.
He said that already 90% of this 11 storied, breach frontage Ocean Breeze Negombo project has been sold before the covid pandemic started and is confident that the remaining apartments too could be marketed before the opening. “We had a mix of local and foreign clientele as buyers of our 190 apartments. We have also commenced construction of our second project which is a 108-room hotel in Sigiriya which will open at the end of 2021.
The third project undertaken by ETM Leisure is a 54-room hotel in Nuwara Eliya scheduled to be opened in 2022.
Outlining his concept he said that firstly the three locations were selected in popular tourist areas. “Once a buyer purchases our apartments we will take each of them on a lease basis and market them to tourists for short or long stays. This will ensure cash flow back to the owner. In addition our management will also offer the apartment back to the owner for one week per year free of charge.”
“Due to the efficient manner in which covid was curtailed by Sri Lanka it has given us a good marketing tool to sell these apartments specially to Europe, Canada and Germany with the tagline ‘Sri Lanka a Safe Haven to Live’.”
He said that globally local education and health standards are held in high esteem and this too is a plus point to market Sri Lanka.
He however said that they need better flexible ‘settlement’ laws from the government to woo more foreigners to settle down in Sri Lanka. “These include transfer of foreign buyer’s assets tax free to Sri Lanka, equal working conditions and similar concessions.”
ETM Leisure in a bid to create a high end restaurant chain also launched their first restaurant, MOB Atrium building on Balapokuna Road in Colombo 05. Outside catering too will be part of the services offered.
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