HOTEL and hospitality group Protea Hotels yesterday said it was building a R44m four-star hotel adjacent to the De Beers’ new Big Hole development in Kimberley. Protea’s investment in a new hotel in the area would allow the group to take advantage of an upswing in tourist volumes to the area as a result of De Beers’ multimillion-rand initiative to rejuvenate the Big Hole.

De Beers has embarked on a R50m project to upgrade the old mine museum in Kimberley and turn it into a tourist attraction. The museum and the Big Hole are two of the city’s biggest tourists attractions. The De Beers project, which would be completed by the end of this year, was likely to increase tourist volumes to the area from the current 90000 a year to 200000 in the next 12 months. Protea said 24% of these tourists were expected to be international. “We think that Kimberley is a city with a big future,” said Protea Hotels MD Arthur Gillis. He said Protea’s investment was a sign of its confidence in initiatives to turn Kimberley into a tourist attraction. De Beers company secretary Roger Ketley said the company’s initial R50m project had been a catalyst for the hotel investment. “A Protea hotel at the Big Hole will attract tourist spend to Kimberley and can augur well for the city and the province,” Ketley said.

Gillis said the developments would put Kimberley “firmly” on the tourist map. He said the hotel would be constructed over nine months, starting this month. The hotel would open in July next year, he said. It would offer 94 bedrooms, and conference and meeting rooms for about 80 people. Gillis said Protea was building a four-star hotel “because we think Kimberley deserves a superior hotel”. He said the hotel would attract local and international tourists and cater for business and leisure tourists. Protea said the new Northern Cape legislature building, completed last year, would provide an additional market for the hotel.

The hotel would be in the same area as the Big Hole museum and would be built on top of the mine dumps facing the Big Hole.