Businessman venturing into tourism industry

BUSINESSMAN Eke Lama aims to buy more hotels and motels around the country.
Lama, the owner and managing director of Yumi Yet Real Estate, said Papua New Guinea’s property and real estate industry was dominated by foreigners and more local businesses needed to be involved.
Lama last month bought the former Alotau International Hotel in Aoltau, Milne Bay.
The hotel has been renamed the Alotau Bay Hotel and is 100 per cent owned by Yumi Yet Real Estate.
“I have lodges and guest houses, now I want hotels and motels,” Lama said.
“I have 17 shops in the country where Indians and Chinese are renting.
“I am not making good money they are leasing K20,000 to K50,000 per month per shop, I can’t go up, but for hotels and motels, I can go up and over, business is there.”
Lama said his company employed more than 200 Papua New Guineans and had over 800 rental properties, 600 land titles, four lodges and now a hotel in PNG, including a rental property in Cairns, Australia.
Lama aims to deliver a high quality hotel and accommodation service to Alotau and restore business confidence in the province.
“I will give more services, I will work with the church, community here in Milne Bay,” Lama said.
Meanwhile, Lama said in the late 1990s to 2000s, most of the real estate and hospitality business in PNG were run by foreigners.
“No one was running shops, hotel, motels or guest house, lodges, these were all done by foreigners but since 2000 more locals have came in.”