Sunbird Hotels and Resorts has unveiled its K6 billion iconic Waterfront Hotel in Salima, pushing the boundaries of hospitality as it eyes the global tourism market.
Run on solar power, the 46-bed facility is part of the hotel chain’s strategy to improve on infrastructure to compete favourably on the global scale.
The company’s Chairperson George Partridge said the state of the art unit represents Sunbird’s renewed drive to improve on its product to attract more visitors to grow the business that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 global health pandemic.
Partridge said although the hotel chain is yet to recover from the effects of COVID-19, it is optimistic of a rebound in business in the near future.
He said the company plans to plant similar upmarket units in some of its potential sites across the country.
“These are long term projects that we must carry out to remain relevant in the business because pandemics come and go,” Partridge told reporters that visited the facility in the central lakeshore district.
Speaking to reporters after a tour of the facility, Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture Michael Usi commended Sunbird Hotels for raising the bar in the hospitality sector, urging others in the industry to step up efforts to make Malawi a destination of choice for visitors.
The hotel chain says it plans to invest a further K6 billion in the second phase of the project to construct a 250-seater restaurant, an upscale bar and a club house.
When finally completed in the near future, the project is expected to generate about 400 direct and indirect jobs.
