Mövenpick Expands in South Asia

by Laura Calugar

New Movenpick Hotel signing ceremony in Khulna, Bangladesh

Khulna, Bangladesh—Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, a Swiss hotel management company, has signed a third hotel in Bangladesh, in the city of Khulna.

Located near the national cricket stadium “Sheikh Abu Naser” and the UNESCO World Heritage site “Sundarbans Reserve Forest”, Mövenpick Hotel Khulna will be a 240-suite hotel, with five food and beverage outlets, an all-day dining restaurant, two specialty restaurants, a coffee shop, a lobby bar and a rooftop restaurant and bar. Other amenities include a spa, sauna, salon, infinity swimming pool, jacuzzi, steam bath, health club and three retail outlets.

Designed by Sthapona Architects Consultants, the hotel will incorporate several meeting facilities, such as a convention center with the capacity to accomodate up to 950 delegates, as well as four meeting rooms, each with a capacity for up to 50 delegates. A grand ballroom and pre-function space divisible into two areas will cater to 410 guests.

“We are very pleased to sign our third property in the country and establish ourselves as the first international hotel chain in Khulna in partnership with the property’s owners, Ahyan Hotel & Resorts Ltd. We believe in Bangladesh and its future. It is rapidly developing economically, with a rising and affluent middle class. This will be a key driver of our business as we look forward to offering corporate and leisure travelers to Khulna an internationally-branded, upscale hotel experience,” Andrew Langdon, Movenpick Hotels & Resorts senior vice president Asia, said in a prepared statement.

Mövenpick Hotels & Resort has two other projects underway in Bangladesh—one in Cox Bazaar and another in the capital Dhaka. The hospitality brand is planning to manage 30 hotels across South Asia and Southeast Asia by 2020.

According to the IMF, Bangladesh’s economy is the second fastest growing major economy globally in 2016, at a rate of 7.1 percent. The population is 163 million, and the country attracted more than 450,000 overseas arrivals in 2015.

Image courtesy of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts