Radisson to set foot in Cox's Bazar

Clewiston Group, a Chittagong-based company, is set to build a 350-room five-star hotel on Kalatoli beach in Cox's Bazar, officials said yesterday.
Radisson, the flagship brand of US-based international chain Carlson Hotels Worldwide, will manage and operate the hotel.
Clewiston will initially invest Tk 350 crore to build Radisson Hotel Cox's Bazar, said an official of the company. Construction is likely to begin in September.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between Carlson and Clewiston last night at Radisson Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka.
Radisson is going to be the second five-star hotel in Cox's Bazar, the country's most popular tourist destination. Earlier, La Vinci took an initiative to build a five-star hotel on Inani beach, which is expected to start construction by July.
Sakhawwat Kamal, manager of Clewiston, said: “We will start construction in the hotel-motel zone of Cox's Bazar in September.
"The hotel will start operations by the end of 2011."
Over the years, the hospitality sector has seen significant growth, led by the five-star hotel segment. Three new five-star hotels opened in Dhaka in the past four years.
Industry experts said Dhaka has around 1,250 five-star rooms and they experience full occupancy only in winter. An average occupancy rate of around 75 percent can easily make the business profitable, they added.
Radisson is the most profitable five-star hotel in Bangladesh. The hotel owns a 40 percent share of the total market.
Clewiston, a maker of garment accessories for the last 15 years, has grown to Tk 1,000 crore in annual turnover, Kamal said.
Faruk Khan, commerce minister, and MA Alim Chowdhury, managing director of Clewiston Group, were present at the deal signing ceremony.