A China-based travel company has presented an offer to Nanaimo city council to purchase a lot beside the Harbour City’s convention centre for a new hotel.
Company representatives said the investors would build a $50 million, 200-suite hotel with a rooftop restaurant on the city-owned vacant site. The company has also set aside $9 million as a deposit in a show of good faith to ensure the funds are available. This includes purchasing the land at an appraised value of $565,000 and leasing up to 200 parking spaces from the conference centre, council was told.
Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation (NEDC) CEO Sasha Angus said it has been working with the travel company for the past four months on the plan.
Vancouver-based lawyer Perry Ehrlich presented the bid to council last month on behalf of SSS International Travel Co. Ltd., a Richmond, B.C. subsidiary of Suzhou Youth Travel Services Co. Ltd.
Suzhou Youth Travel is ranked 13th in the top 100 Chinese travel service companies, and is ranked first in the Jiangsu province, where it is located. According to Ehrlich, the company posted $175 million in gross revenue in 2012 and moves 41,000 tourists from China across the world each day. He said the company wants to add Nanaimo as a destination on its routes.
For a report on Vancouver Island, see the July issue of Western Investor.
