International Dateline Hotel Nuku'alofa-Here We go Again

Experienced South Pacific travellers have heard it all before and seen the resultant debacles-this place is notorious for being a ripoff , a dirty disorganised dump and the only option downtown that isn't a guesthouse.

Now some Indo Fijians say they're going to 'Do the Place Up' well I'll believe it when I see it-the Chinese said the same thing and they drove it into the ground.

Tanoa Hotel Group To ‘Transform’ Tonga’s International Dateline
Fiji company to reopen four star hotel in mid-2017

NUKU‘ALOFA, Tonga (Matangi Tonga, March 12, 2015) – The Tanoa Hotel Group from Fiji will take over Tonga’s International Dateline Hotel for redevelopment this year, aiming to transform the seafront hotel and reopen as Tanoa Dateline in mid-2017 with a Tongan four star standard.

Agreements were signed in Nuku’alofa today, Thursday 12 March by the Minister for Finance Hon ‘Aisake Eke with the directors of the Tanoa Group, including the Reddy Group chairman Y.P. Reddy of Fiji, and his children Rohit and Kamini Reddy.

Y.P. Reddy said they had successfully concluded discussions with the Tongan Government, resulting in an agreement to renovate, refurbish and manage the hotel.

He said the hotel would undergo a major transformation and will be refurbished to a standard that will appeal to the corporate, international leisure, conferences and visiting friends and families.

The Minister said the government in return for the hotel group’s investment would provide some tax concessions and facilitate the requirement for lease and other administrative measures to make the project successful.

Investment

Rohit Reddy told local media after the signing that Tanoa was going to make a very significant investment for the refurbishment within the next two-years.

He said the agreement, including figures, was confidential between them and the Tongan government.

"We are excited about this project. Our style of refurbishment is that we are going to employ a lot of of the locals like in Samoa we had the majority of staff there local people and we envisaged to do the same here in Tonga," he said.

Once the hotel is operational there would be added benefits to Tonga’s local economy. "In general, we will purchase materials in Tonga, apart from some stuff from overseas and our supply will be from the local market, in addition to the employment," he said.

"We are very pleased to be here as this is a significant project for the government, ourselves and for the people of Tonga. We will give it our best to make sure it is successful for everyone here."

Agreement

The Minister said the added positive value to this deal going through was the turnover effect for the local economy and tourism sector.

"From our perspective this is something that will serve both sides financially and we are satisfied with it, that is why government backed this project."

He said when government did its analysis and they knew it was a good project. "Although it’s a risk that both sides are taking, in the end we trust it will be beneficial for both sides," he said.

The Minister also confirmed the lease is for 99-years.

The government now has to go through Cabinet for the processing of the lease and also the approval of the tax concessions, which is expected to take two-weeks.

"The agreement will come into effect before May 1 provided the two issues from our side are completed," he said.

Tourism Industry

"Government is excited about the anticipated economic effect that the redevelopment of the hotel will have on Tonga’s tourism industry and the economy in general."

The Dateline, which has been closed since February 2014 will be re-opened as part of the Tanoa Hotel Group which currently has 10 South Pacific hotel properties in Fiji, Samoa and New Zealand.

The Good Old Days in the Ballroom of the old Dateline Hotel

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