The fear that Rødbyhavn and Sydlolland will end up as a passing city when the tunnel opens in 2029 is palpable – both in the local area and at Lolland Municipality.
The municipality’s focus is now to get as much development started during the construction phase, so that Lolland can reap the rewards when the cord is cut and all the project employees have moved on to the next construction work.
Has invested 100 million
In Rødbyhavn, Hotels Holding ApS has invested over DKK 100 million in the belief in Sydlolland’s potential.
Hages Badehotel is now almost finished and will soon open for guests. And the investors also have big plans for two plots on the quay in Rødbyhavn, glamping in a nearby forest and a new summer house area.
– We believe in the totality of it. We believe in the long-term perspective of entering and being the first in the area, says owner and chairman of the board of Hotels Holding ApS Michael Halborg-Bendtsen.
A risky move
He admits that the investors are making a risky move when they throw such a large sum into the tourism industry on Lolland, instead of a similar investment on home turf in Copenhagen.
– It is something completely different. We feel that we have taken a proper step. But we also feel that we have made something with quality…something that has been lacking. And we believe there is a need, he says.
Fixed link was attractive
Michael Halborg-Bendtsen makes no secret of the fact that it is the potential of the permanent connection to Germany, but also the new hinterland, that has lured investors to Lolland.
– For us, Fehmarn is definitely instrumental in us daring to make such an investment. It brings business. But the fact that a lagoon and a beach are being built will be an asset going forward, he says.
Spain becomes too hot
Another aspect that investors are not blind to is climate change. Here, South Lolland entices with Scandinavia’s longest south-facing beach.
– We know from the other hotels that in the future it will be too hot to holiday in Spain, Italy and Greece. So there will be many who quite naturally move north for those reasons. It’s not something that happens tomorrow. But we have plenty of time here, he says confidently.
Tourism rather than accommodation
So the investors from Hotels Holding ApS are “in it for the long hold”, and the strategy is clear. Therefore, they also do not want to book the entire bathing hotel with employees from the tunnel project. Something they could otherwise easily do.
– After all, this is not what we are going to live on in the long term. We would really like to have employees from the Fehmarn project living. But it is tourism that we believe in and place a lot of emphasis on, says Michael Halborg-Bendtsen.
