Far East Hotels & Entertainment, owner of the Warwick Hotel on Cheung Chau island, has golden dreams of sailors and surfers and sandy white beaches.
The only trouble is the Warwick stands along a narrow strip of sand on Hong Kong's most densely populated outer island.
But with the tourism industry suffering from the Sars outbreak, Far East Hotels hopes to rejuvenate the island into a Phuket-style resort destination geared towards the domestic tourism market.
In contrast to most city hotels catering to tourists, where occupancy rates have plunged by up to 90 per cent since the Sars outbreak, hotels on the outlying islands have been swamped by Hong Kong residents.
The Warwick Hotel on Cheung Chau and Silvermine Beach Hotel at Mui Wo on Lantau Island, which is owned by Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings), were fully occupied as families cancelled trips overseas during the Easter break due to the Sars outbreak.
'Our Warwick Hotel achieved 90 per cent occupancy during the Easter break,' said Far East Hotels' managing director Derek Chiu. 'The scene has shed some light on the opportunity to develop domestic tourism.
