28 November 2016 12:02 am
Pic by Kushan Pathiraja
Sri Lanka’s diversified LOLC group and the French upmarket resort operator Club Méditerranée, which is popularly known as Club Med, last Friday inked an agreement in Colombo to brand, market and manage the LOLC group’s premier beachfront property, Riverina Resorts, in Beruwala.
The property, which combines the three hotel properties previously known as Riverina, Palm Garden and Tropical Villas, is currently under construction and the combined landmass of these properties consists of 20 acres with a 400-metre long pristine beachfront.
According to LOLC Group Managing Director Kapila Jayawardena, LOLC waited for the “right partner” for Riverina, despite three of the biggest leisure operators in the world knocking on LOLC’s doors.
According to the LOLC annual report, Riverina Resorts (Private) Limited is in the process of putting up a 475-key, five-star, 20-acre resort situated in the ‘Golden Mile’, Bentota. The total cost was estimated to be Rs.7.2 billion, out of which, Rs.1.56 billion already incurred.
Club Méditerranée President/CEO Henri Giscard D’Estaing, who spoke very passionately at the signing ceremony about the potential Sri Lanka has as a prime tourist destination, said their plan was to transform Riverina into the best family resort in the Indian Ocean.
Over the past 65 years, Club Med has been a catalyst in transforming emerging destinations into international high-level tourist places,
generating great global interest and immediate traffic wherever it settles.
Bali, Cancun, Punta Cana, the Maldives and Phuket are perfect examples of destinations launched into the list of world-class destinations after Club Med’s first resort was established in those locations.