HAYLEYS Leisure, part of Sri Lanka’s conglomerate Hayleys Group, is investing in a new US$65 million property in the Maldives and a cluster of leisure properties in Sri Lanka.

Lalin Samarawickrama, managing director of Hayleys Leisure, said the proposed five-star hotel in the Maldives will comprise 150 villas and is located within a 30-minute drive from the airport. Construction is expected to commence in January with an opening scheduled for 2018.

This is Hayleys’ first venture into the Maldives, putting it in direct competition with the likes of Aitken Spence Hotels and John Keells Holdings, Sri Lanka’s two largest conglomerates with sizable investments in the island chain.

In addition, Hayleys is investing in six tea plantation bungalows in Sri Lanka’s central hills while another hotel is being developed in the central town of Nuwara Eliya at a cost of 2.5 billion Sri Lankan rupees (US$18 million). Work on the hotel begins early next year.

Hayleys also plans to add 160 rooms to the 229-key The Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo and will manage a new 66-unit apartment complex in the capital city in October 2015.

MORE than half of the targeted number of registrations are already in the books, but SITE incoming president Rajeev Kohli is hungry for a larger representation from Asia for the SITE Global Conference 2016 happening in New Delhi this October.

Kohli, the first Asian president-elect in the history of the Chicago-based incentive group, is urging Asian meeting and incentive players to come out in force, saying the last time the global conference was held in Asia was in Beijing more than a decade ago in 2003.

The conference comes as the US incentive market has been registering steady rebound since the global financial crisis.

“It is an opportunity for the Pan-Asian tourism industry to network with global buyers and players in the incentive industry, enhance their skills with world-class education and also learn to conduct business with destination India (inbound and outbound),” said Kohli, who is joint managing director at Creative Travel India.

But he stressed the conference was not only about India “but Asia in general, and the opportunities it offers all incentive travel professionals”.

“SITE is a truly global association and our conferences are designed to reflect the diversity and vibrancy of the incentive travel community,” he said.

The event also marks SITE’s re-emergence in Asia. The society has a strategic priority to grow its membership in the region and was one of the first MICE associations to work with authorities to establish a chapter in China.

Earlier this year, members of the SITE International Board of Directors spent time in Asia meeting with industry leaders in Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau. Chapters in China and India are growing and there is great interest in establishing new chapters in Singapore and Hong Kong, said Kohli.

Highlights of the conference include sessions on how to successfully operate programmes in India, how to gain a share of the fastest growing outbound travel markets and how to create real results from an incentive.

The conference, to be held from October 23 to 25, is expected to attract over 300 incentive travel professionals. At press time, 170 delegates from 30 countries have already registered.

Credit: Ramada Phuket Deevana

NEWLY launched Ramada Phuket Deevana is set to strengthen Wyndham Hotel Group’s presence in Thailand and South-east Asia.

The 206-room, 1 billion baht (US$28 million) development, owned by Deevana Hotels and Resorts, joins four existing Ramada properties in Thailand.

Offering guests a central location close to beaches, nightlife spots and shopping and entertainment districts, the resort also boasts a third-floor swimming pool, fitness centre, kids club, restaurant and spa.

The opening of Ramada Phuket Deevana follows the June opening of Wyndham’s first mixed-use property in Asia, Wyndham Sea Pearl Resort Phuket, which accommodates hotel guests as well as timeshare owners through Club Wyndham Asia.

In addition, Ramada recently announced signings for properties in Broome and Auckland, as well as agreements for 17 new properties in South Korea scheduled to open by 2018 and plans for eight new properties in China to open by end 2017.

FOLLOWING a two-year hiatus, Austrian Airlines is resuming flights to Sri Lanka on October 27 to Colombo, making it the only European carrier to operate direct flights to the island-nation.

The airline will operate the once-weekly Vienna-Colombo route on a Boeing 767 aircraft, covering the journey in about nine hours and 10 minutes.

Austrian Airlines had been operating scheduled flights to Colombo until seven years ago when it offered only charters, which were subsequently suspended two years ago.

According to Shiromal Cooray, managing director at Jetwing Travels, local GSA for Austrian Airways, the airline is returning to Sri Lanka due to stronger demand from Europe. “Austrian Airlines could also serve as a feeder for passengers travelling to Colombo from Hungary, Switzerland and even Germany,” she added.

Andreas Otto, chief commercial officer of Austrian Airlines, said: “We are increasingly focusing on longhaul tourist destinations which are particularly in demand during the winter months. In addition to the Maldives and Mauritius, Sri Lanka is yet another destination in the Indian Ocean.”

The Vienna-based airline also flies to Delhi, Bangkok, Beijing and Tokyo in Asia.