subject: Sheraton To Build Brand New Luxury Hotel In Sri Lanka [print this page] Sheraton Hotels and Resorts has announced plans to build a brand new luxury hotel in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka.
According to Sri Lankas junior economic minister, the hotel will be built on land that was originally offered to the Chinese firm, China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC).
The island nation's Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene, said the government has completed negotiations with the global hotel chain to allocate the land.
"The negotiations with Sheraton are successfully over and we have agreed to give (the) CATIC land," said Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene.
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts will build a property that will cater for both business travellers and tourists taking Sri Lanka holidays, on a seven-acre plot of land on Colombo's waterfront Galle Face Green promenade.
The CATIC deal was cancelled after Sri Lanka annulled a $500 million investment deal because it refused to sell the beach land outright to the Chinese firm.
The Sri Lankan government is negotiating to give CATIC another property, and talks are underway to lease the land in front of Galle Face Green so the company can build another hotel.
Since the end of the islands decades-long civil war in 2009 the island has seen a significant increase in travellers enjoying Sri Lanka holidays and the tourism industry is beginning to boom.
At the end of 2010, Sri Lanka Tourism (SLT) celebrated the arrival of 600,000 international visitors. This year, the SLT is hoping to record 700,000 travellers and it has set a target of 2.5 million visitors by 2016.
During holidays to Sri Lanka, tourists can explore the countrys stunning natural landscapes and diverse ecosystem that is made up of comprising miles of sandy beaches, mountains, wildlife sanctuaries, nature parks, and an array of heritage sites including ancient cities and colonial forts.
Many international hotel groups and organisations have been keen to build new Sri Lanka hotels since the end of the civil war and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is one of the Starwoods largest luxury hotel brands.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide owns and operates hotels across the world under nine brands that vary from midscale hotels, to luxury, boutique and environmentally-friendly hotels.
