The hotel - which will cost some F$66 million to develop - will be owned by a joint venture between Air Pacific and investors introduced by Accor. The project will commence construction in early 2000 and is scheduled for completion in the final quarter of 2001.

The Novotel will join other popular Novotel Resorts in locations such as Cairns and the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, the Swan Valley in Perth, Coffs Harbour in New South Wales, Bali and Lombok in Indonesia, and Phuket in Thailand. Novotel Denerau Island Resort will be part of a global Novotel network of some 350 hotels and resorts, including over 50 in the Asia Pacific region.

The Novotel Resort will be built on the beachfront with distinctive Fijian features. The resort will comprise 300 rooms and suites, two main restaurants, extensive conference facilities, a lagoon swimming pool, health and fitness centre, Dolfi Kids Club and retail area. Guests will be able to fully utilise the adjacent world-class Denerau Golf & Racquet Club, which incorporates an 18 hole championship golf course and ten tennis courts.

Denarau Island is a fully integrated tourist destination, which has the convenience of being located just 20 minutes from Fiji�s international airport at Nadi. The island is also a popular pre and post-destination for travellers to the outer islands and within Viti Levu, Fiji�s main island.

Air Pacific - which is 51% owned by the Government of Fiji and 46% owned by Qantas - is anticipating considerable growth in the market to Fiji, prompting the need for additional international-standard resort accommodation. A 7.6% increase in visitors is anticipated in 2000, rising to above 10% in 2001 and 2002, with the bulk of the growth coming from the Australian, New Zealand and North American markets. The market from Asia is also developing strongly.

The announcement of the project coincides with the completion of a fleet upgrade programme of Air Pacific, Fiji�s international airline and the principal carrier to and from Fiji. As a result of Air Pacific�s investment in their fleet, seat capacity has increased by some 65% in the past year.

Commenting on the signing of the agreement, Accor Asia Pacific Chairman, David Baffsky, said that the development of the resort in Fiji was a natural extension to Accor�s Asia-Pacific network.

�We are already the largest operator in the Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific region, and adding a quality resort in Fiji has been major priority of the company,� said Mr Baffsky.
�Fiji is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Australia and New Zealand travellers, and with the Novotel Resort brand so well-established and popular, we anticipate the partnership with Air Pacific will be an outstanding success.

�Analysis of the Fijian market has highlighted that the overwhelming growth market is in the 4 star �affordable quality� sector, which the Novotel brand leads. Novotel is expanding rapidly in the region - including new Novotels at Sydney�s Olympic Park, Canberra and Auckland during 2000 - and with Novotel�s presence now in 55 countries, Accor will be able to use this network to promote additional travel to Fiji.�

Air Pacific Chairman, Gerald Barrack, welcomed the partnership with Accor, saying the two companies enjoyed a number of synergies.

�Both Accor and Air Pacific have strong brands, a firm foothold in the leisure and conference markets, financial and marketing strength, and a commitment to development of tourism in the region,� said Mr Barrack.

�We have recently undertaken one of the largest investment and modernisation programmes in the history of Air Pacific, and we now have the capacity to significantly increase visitor numbers to the destination. To complement this, we have required additional quality accommodation in the mid-market, and Novotel is the perfect brand to meet this objective.�

Accor is the largest hotel and tourism company in the world. The company operates some 3,300 hotels under brands that include Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis. Accor also has significant interests in casinos, convention centres, catering, travel agencies and other travel services.