Weekly Hotel Industry News Roundup from Asia Pacific
Wyndham Hotel Group To Reposition Korea's Chosun Tourist Hotel Under Ramada Brand
Wyndham Hotel Group has announced its plans to reposition the independent Chosun Tourist Hotel to the Ramada Suanbo Hotel, upon completion of the renovation and extension of the existing hotel. Located in the Suanbo Hot Springs resort area of Chungju, South Korea, the existing 66-guestroom Chosun Tourist Hotel is expected to undergo renovation work which will add two floors with 33 guestrooms. Scheduled to be completed by third quarter 2008, the renovated facility is likely to include five food and beverage outlets, consisting of three restaurants and two bars, five meeting rooms, a fitness centre, a sauna and a solarium. Currently, there are six Ramada hotels in operation in Korea and two proposed hotels to be opened by 2010.
Ritz-Carlton Central, Hong Kong To Close On 1 February 2008
In the midst of a booming office market in Hong Kong, the owner of the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, Lai Sun Development Company Limited, has planned to redevelop the five-star hotel into a prime office tower. Lai Sun Development Company Limited bought over the Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong from Japan's Ginzu Golf Service for approximately US$154 million in May 2003 when the latter went into distress. The 216-guestroom hotel, located at the Central, is expected to close on 1 February 2008 while another 300-guestroom Ritz-Carlton hotel is expected to be opened at West Kowloon's International Commerce Centre (ICC) in 2010, occupying the top 16 storeys of the ICC tower. Ritz-Carlton is also expected to open another hotel in Macau Studio City in 2009.
Bali, Indonesia Witnesses Sharp Increase In Indian Tourist Arrivals
According to Indonesian tourism authorities, Indian tourists visiting Bali increased by 81.6% to 19,204 arrivals in the first eleven months of 2007 as compared to the same period in 2006. Indian visitors are expected to continue to increase as the Indian government has established India's culture foundation in Bali to foster relationships with the Balinese. The 2008 Indonesian tourism campaign is also aimed at attracting more Indians to the country through setting up tourism representative offices in Indian cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, as well as in 11 other countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and China. According to the Indonesian Culture and Tourism Ministry, the total number of Indian tourists visiting Indonesia in 2007 increased by 52% to about 84,000 as compared to 2006.
Banyan Tree Residences Launched In Singapore
Banyan Tree Holdings Limited has recently launched its Banyan Tree residences, across five resort locations, in a two-day private exhibition at the Fullerton Hotel, Singapore. A total of 40 reservations were made for villas, townhouses and apartments and among the locations, Bintan and Phuket turned out to be the most popular choices among buyers. The prices of the Banyan Tree residences at Bintan start from US$440,000 for a one-bedroom unit while the Phuket residences were offered from US$1.6 million for a two-bedroom unit. Elsewhere, the Bangkok city-centre residences and the Lijiang townhouses were priced from US$740,000 and US$780,000, respectively, while the prices of the Seychelles beachfront double-pool villas start from US$1.5 million. The residences had garnered positive response from investors due to the accessibility, design, membership programme and investment structure of the product.
Australia's MFS Limited Requests Trading Halt Amidst Consideration Of City Pacific's Offer
Australia-listed MFS Limited (MFS) has requested for a trading halt as it considers a US$730 million bid from City Pacific Limited for its fund management business, MFS Financial Services (MFSFS). The deal is expected to involve the structural separation of MFSFS from Stella Group, MFS's tourism business arm. Stella Group owns and franchises Australian hotel brands such as Peppers and travel agencies including Harvey World Travel. According to MFS, the possible merger of City Pacific and MFSFS is likely to produce substantial synergies and revenue enhancement opportunities.
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