On Tuesday, the City of Dreams resort opened in Limassol, in southern Cyprus, a luxury hotel and casino billed by its operators as “Europe’s largest” while aiming to attract an additional 300,000 tourists to the country.
And the director of real estate for this huge project, American Grant Johnson, said during the opening ceremony that “this complex is the largest of its kind in Europe,” as it consists of 14 floors, including 500 rooms and suites, each of which overlooks the city and the sea, as well as long and winding pools, as well as sports facilities and an open airstrip.
Lawrence Ho, chairman of Melco Group in Hong Kong, which is behind the project, explained that the complex “gives Cyprus the potential to become a leading tourist destination” after three years of construction and an investment of more than 637 million euros.
Lawrence believes the project will “enable Cyprus to expand into new markets in Africa and the Middle East”, noting that the idea of building a resort in Limassol came to him when he visited the coastal city 16 years ago to attend a wedding.
The same source said it sought to build “a hotel that James Bond would like to stay in”, pointing out that “Cyprus is now poised to compete with Europe and the Middle East in luxury tourism”.
The casino was built on an area of 7,500 square meters with 100 gaming tables and a thousand slot machines, and a luxury hotel was designed to accommodate wealthy guests with room rates ranging from 425 to 2,300 euros per night. during the tourist season.
The complex, the first Melco to open outside of Asia, employs 2,000 people.
Source: AFP