Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines purchased the Novotel Twin Waters Resort in Australia, a property worth a reported $100 million.
The 361-room resort is located on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and is being sold by an unlisted retail fund managed by Abacus. The deal is taking place alongside announcements from Australia’s government that the country’s tourism industry is exceeding targets set in 2009 for 2020, with Australia’s federal tourism minister Steve Ciobo quoted saying total overnight visitor spending has increased 22 percent since 2013.
“Spending by international tourists has lurched by 26 percent since 2013,” Ciobo said.
Hainan Airlines is the fourth largest publicly-listed airline in China by fleet size, and it’s parent company recently spent $159 million to acquire a 13 percent equity stake in the Virgin Australia Group.
Elsewhere in Australia, the Fitzroy Island Resort near Cairns is preparing to hit the market with a supposed $15 million price tag. Resort Brokers Australia is campaigning to sell the resort, which has 102 guestrooms, multiple food & beverage outlets, event and meeting spaces, a dive shop, general store and mooring facilities.
The sale price of the hotel includes a 190-seat catamaran ferry service, which operates three daily itineraries from Cairns. Development approvals are on the table for the resort’s hotel, which could potentially add up to 75 new guestrooms and an infrastructure overhaul. Due in part to these additional aspects of the property, Ian Crooks, managing director of Resort Brokers Australia, said he expects local and international buyers to show interest in the property.
“Not only is this near-new property already generating a steady and growing income, projected to exceed $2.7 million in fiscal year 2017, it comes with outstanding growth opportunities,” Crooks said.