Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa keen to boost visitor numbers

The Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa recently witnessed the roll out of their private jet program last year alongside the launch of the new terminal. In addition to the new developments, the property is keen to increase visitor numbers from the Middle East region as well as other markets through a slew of new initiatives. 

“The new terminal caters to both commercial aircraft and private jet passengers. We have our own customs, scanning machines, so it’s a self contained terminal purely for Shangrila. The terminal is then linked on to the private jetty you go to the resort. The baggage is directly sent to the resort and it is a very seamless service,” explained Levent Tekun, director of sales and marketing for Shangri-la Villingili Resort & Spa, Maldives in a conversation with Travel Daily Middle East.

The terminal is just one of the many highlights the hotel would like to showcase for the region. According to Tekun, “There is huge growth from this region. The bulk comes from Saudi Arabia with a lot it being channeled through private jets. This said, we cannot put aside our other big markets such as China which is not just big for us, but entire Maldives. We are witnessing increasing numbers from Russia and Switzerland, which are high-end guests. There is also a big uptake from Australia especially for weddings.”

With a diverse guest list, the hotel looks to innovate with its offerings which include the kids club and a lot of activity going. Guests can also select the seclusion of their own private villa and garden. “We are focusing on families. The upcoming summer will see some good offers being rolled out like kids eat free and discounts on rooms. In addition, we currently have a concept of dine by design in our own jungle on the resort as well as a golf course. In addition to the existing offers, we have added dinner on the lake as we have three lakes. We have also opened a barbeque pit on the golf course,” added Tekun.

The Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa being a fairly new product is keen to expand to as many markets and boost visitor numbers. Riding on these plans, the hotel plans to hold a high-end sales mission in Australia building on the growing numbers from the continent. The sales mission will cover Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The hotel has also launched its website in several languages to cater to specific markets such as Arabic, Russian, Korean and Chinese.

With a well-set plan in place, the Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa caters to all ages with a range of activities such as Golf, diving and underwater sports among others. As Tekun concludes, “We are looking at working very closely with surfers as we have seven sites for resurfing, which is an adrenalin sport.”