The International Dateline Hotel is a hotel in

Nukuʻalofa Nukualofa (; ) is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British captain James ...

, the capital of

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, often used by guests of state. It was established in 1964 with 24 rooms by Janfull International Dateline Hotel Ltd., a joint venture between Tonga and China which according to ''Pacific Islands Report'' was the first entry by China into free-market Pacific tourism. The hotel was built to house visitors to the coronation of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV and also marked the start of tourism to Tonga. It was renovated and expanded in 2001–2003 with a Chinese loan, adding a new wing and redeveloping the waterfront, and again with Chinese funding in 2006. This added 30 rooms and a convention centre whose main conference hall holds 400 people and was built for the 38th

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

. Ownership was transferred to the government of Tonga in 2012 after the original hotel went into liquidation. Another renovation was begun in 2015 by the Tanoa Hotel Group with support from the government. The work was carried out by the Reddy Group. This preserved the original atmosphere of the public areas while modernising the rooms and added a pool bar, restaurant and spa area. It was reopened by King Tupou VI on 16 February 2017. Prime Minister

ʻAkilisi Pōhiva Samiuela ʻAkilisi Pōhiva (7 April 1941 – 12 September 2019) was a Tongan pro-democracy activist and politician. Pohiva, the leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (DPFI), served as the Prime Minister of Tonga from 2014 to h ...

said that "such project contributes heavily to economic development." Later in 2017, the hotel hosted the Commonwealth Observer Group to the

2017 Tongan general election General elections were held in Tonga on 16 November 2017 to elect 17 of the 26 seats to the Legislative Assembly. King Tupou VI dissolved the Assembly on 25 August 2017 on the advice of its Speaker, Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō, who claimed that ...

. The hotel has 120 rooms: 6 long term apartments, 4 ocean view suites, 43 superior rooms with balcony, 27 superior king rooms, 38 ocean view queen rooms, and 2 disable access rooms.

References

External links

Official site
Hotels in Tonga Nukuʻalofa Hotels established in 1964 1964 establishments in Tonga {{tonga-stub