Lexis set to open two new hotels amid resurgence in tourist arrivals

KUALA LUMPUR: Lexis Hotels & Resorts Sdn Bhd is set to open two new hotels with a total gross development value (GDV) of about RM1.22 billion amid the resurgence in tourist arrivals.

President Datuk Mandy Chew Siok Cheng said that the GDV of Imperial Lexis Kuala Lumpur, which is located in the city centre, stood at RM720 million, while Lexis Hibiscus 2, with a GDV of RM500 million, is located adjacent to the current Lexis Hibiscus in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.

“Imperial Lexis Kuala Lumpur is slated to welcome guests soon, while Lexis Hibiscus 2 is expected to be completed within five years,” she told BK.

Chew further said that its current hotel, Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson, has recorded a growth in guests, particularly post-Covid-19.

“Our annual New Year’s celebration held at Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson has attracted over 2,000 guests this year, a 100 per cent increase from the previous year’s attendance of roughly 1,000 guests,” she added.

Meanwhile, Lexis Hibiscus 2 will feature over 1,000 rooms and like Lexis Hibiscus, it will feature its own private pool in each villa for exclusivity and privacy.

The development is set to draw around 400,000 tourists to Port Dickson every year, generating RM240 million per annum, of which 20 per cent will go to the state government and its people in return for the 32 hectares of land on which the project will be built.

Chew also announced that the 2024 New Year celebration would be held at Imperial Lexis Kuala Lumpur.

The luxury hotel will feature 275 hotel rooms and suites, with a private pool in every hotel room and suite – a first in Kuala Lumpur.

Previously, Tourism Malaysia deputy director-general (promotion) Datuk Musa Yusof said Malaysia’s tourism sector is expected to fully recover in 2024, with the number of tourist arrivals seen surpassing pre-Covid-19 levels, driven by better flight connectivity and increased visitors from China and India.

Malaysia has revised its full-year forecast upwards by 18.63 per cent to 19.1 million, up from its initial forecast of 16.1 million, following a remarkable increase to 14.4 million tourist arrivals in the first nine months of 2023.

Following Malaysia’s transition from the Covid-19 phase to the endemic phase, tourist arrivals rebounded to 10.1 million in 2022.

The country received 26.1 million international visitors in 2019, which fell by 83.4 per cent to 4.33 million in 2020, and as the Covid-19 outbreak first emerged and national borders were closed in 2021, the number dropped even further to just 130,000. – BK