Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) intends to acquire and operate more hotels in Iceland in order to expand its presence and target global travellers, according to the company's chief executive officer, Syed Ali Shahul Hameed.
Despite the global pandemic, most hotels in Iceland are performing well and BLand is confident that the country could deliver long-term promise to capitalise on growth opportunities, he said.
"Iceland is becoming increasingly popular among tourists. In Iceland, we operate 14 hotels, all of which are fully booked. We expect a significant increase in tourists once the global blockades are lifted, so we believe we are in a prime market," he told NST Property.
According to Morgunblai, nearly three times as many foreign tourists visited Iceland via Keflavk International Airport in the summer of 2020. The majority (43 per cent) came from the United States, followed by Germany (nine per cent), Poland (seven per cent), the United Kingdom, and France (five per cent each).
The vast majority of visitors were on vacation, four per cent were visiting friends or family, and two per cent were there for health, research, or other purposes. In Iceland, the average number of overnight stays was 9.1 days.
According to the National Statistical Institute of Iceland, there were nearly 2.7 million overnight stays in summer 2021, which is 58 per cent more than in summer 2020 and about a quarter less than in summer 2019.
The occupancy rate for hotels in the summer was at its peak in August, at 76 per cent, with East Iceland accounting for approximately 83 per cent of the total.
This year, BLand entered into a share purchase agreement with Icelandair Group hf for the acquisition of a 100 per cent stake in Icelandair Hotels ehf through its wholly-owned Irish-incorporated subsidiary Berjaya Property Ireland Ltd.
With 1,471 keys across 14 hotels under various brands, BLand is Iceland's largest hotel operator.
Its hotel brands, which include Icelandair Hotel, Hilton, Edda, Canopy, Konsulat, and Alda, cater to a diverse range of market segments.
The company owns 875 rooms in Reykjavik, 595 in the countryside, 304 at Icelandair Hotels, and 292 summer rooms at Hotel Edda.
The acquisition, according to Syed Ali, is consistent with BLand's goals of geographical diversification and revenue expansion.
"We anticipate increased visitor arrivals next year as more people around the world have been immunised and are eager to travel abroad. We believe that the Icelandic hotel industry has enormous potential for connecting Iceland with Asia, particularly Malaysia," he said.
BLand will open Iceland Parliament Hotel, its 15th hotel in Iceland, in the first half of next year to meet rising demand.
The hotel, which has 163 Scandinavian-style rooms, is a 50:50 collaboration between Dalsnes and Icelandair Group and is located next to the Icelandic Parliament - Alingi.
This means by the middle of next year BLand will operate a total of 1634 rooms in Iceland and the numbers will expand, Syed Ali said.
According to him, there have been numerous inquiries from Malaysians who want to visit Iceland.
He said that BLand is in discussions with several airlines and will collaborate to provide a variety of packages for Malaysians who want to visit Iceland.
"At the same time, we're putting together packages for Icelanders to visit Malaysia and stay in our hotels and resorts," he said.
BLand, which is controlled by Berjaya Corp (BCorp) Bhd, operates 36 other hotels and resorts in eight countries, including Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and the United Kingdom.
Last year BCorp sold its trophy asset, the Four Seasons Hotel & Hotel Residences Kyoto in Japan, to Godo Kaisha Tigre (Tigre) for about RM1.87 billion. The transaction gained more than RM600 million from the disposal.
Berjaya Kyoto Development Kabushiki Kaisha, a unit of BCorp, has signed a 17-year leaseback arrangement with Tigre to run the hotel.
As part of the group's hotel network expansion in Iceland, BCorp plans to duplicate the success of its Four Seasons development idea, according to Syed Ali.
It aims to build a Four Seasons Hotel & Residences located in Iceland's capital, Reykjavik.
The Berjaya Group founder, Tan Sri Vincent Tan in recent years bought numerous property assets there.
The proposed five-star hotel development will feature 150 rooms in addition to over 100 private residences with world-class facilities.
"We believe there is demand for luxury hotels, therefore we are exploring the possibilities of adding one to Icelandair Hotels' portfolio as we progress, either by acquiring existing properties or by building from the ground up in popular locations," he said.