Thai hotel group taps in Sri Lanka's tourism boom

Sri Lanka, Asia's fastest growing tourism market, became the latest addition of a Thai hotels group as it plans to tap into post-war boom on two hotel ventures in the island, an official statement said here on Monday. Sri Lanka's Serendib Hotels, the hotels arm of conglomerate Hemas group last week announced their tie up with global leisure brand Avani, in partnership with internationally-renowned Minor Group. Avani Hotels and Resorts is the latest brand of luxury hotels of Thailand-based Minor Hotels Group and will operate in Asia, Oceania, the Middle East and Africa. Minor's other brands include the world-famous Marriott, Four Seasons, St. Regis and Anantara. The first property to be branded Avani in Sri Lanka will be open to tourists from the beginning of next month. The hotel is located in the southern part of the country. The second Avani resort will be in Kalutara, about 43km from Colombo, after an upgrade in 2012. Minor, which has a 20 percentage stake in Serendib Hotels, will also launch the Anantara brand by building a new resort in Kalutara with an investment of Rs. 2 billion (18 million U.S. dollars). Sri Lanka is seeing a tourist boom since ending its three decade war in 2009 with arrivals topping 750 000 this year. The country is targeting 2.5 million tourists by 2016.