Sokha Hotel Unveils New Conference Center in Siem Reap

Sokha Hotels & Resorts has unveiled a major new conference and exhibition space – the Sokha Convention Center, in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Located adjacent to the 770-key Sokha Siem Reap Resort, which is due to open in September 2016, the 8,950 square meter facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art audiovisual and telecommunications technology. Currently, Sokha Hotels also manages other convention facilities in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Kampot, as well as in Siem Reap. While the majority of large-scale conferences in Cambodia are held in Phnom Penh, it is anticipated that the new Sokha Convention Center will boost the potential of Siem Reap as a promising new MICE destination in Asia. Furthermore, with a halal-certified kitchen, the convention center is expected to attract large-scale events from Muslim countries, especially from neighboring ASEAN nations such as Indonesia and Malaysia. Siem Reap is an important cultural destination for tourists from all across the world. It is a major tourist hub in Cambodia, being closest to the world famous temples of Angkor Wat.

Jakarta Airport’s New and Largest Terminal Set to Open This Week

State airport operator, Angkasa Pura II has confirmed that the new ‘Terminal 3 Ultimate’ at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport will commence operations on 9 August. Terminal 3 Ultimate has been designed as a hub for domestic and international destinations with a total capacity of 25 million passengers per year, once fully operational. While national carrier, Garuda Indonesia will take the lead by operating all domestic services from this new terminal, their international flights as well as other carriers, including Air France, China Airlines and KLM, will follow gradually. Spanning 422,804 square meters, the new terminal will have 10 gates for international flights and 18 gates for domestic flights. Other facilities in the new terminal include two four-star hotels, meeting rooms, duty free shops and retail outlets, restaurants, multi-storey car parks, skytrains to shuttle passengers between all three terminals, and commuter trains to take them to the city in less than an hour. With the opening of this new terminal, Indonesian officials hope to rival Changi and Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and lure international passengers to choose Jakarta as a transit point.

Carlson Rezidor Announces the Opening of Its Newest Radisson Blu in Karjat, India

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group announced the opening of the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa in Karjat, Maharashtra. The 102 key, newly built property is the Radisson Blu brand’s 29th addition to Carlson Rezidor’s portfolio in India. The hotel features an all-day dining restaurant, a pool side bar, a fitness center, a spa, a swimming pool, a children’s pool and an outdoor, heated Jacuzzi. With the opening of the Karjat property, the group now has 77 hotels in the country, with another 41 in the pipeline. Karjat, located in the sub-district of Raigad in Maharashtra and a two-hour drive from Mumbai and Pune, is a popular weekend tourism destination.

Consortium of Banks Take Over Upcoming Hotel in Bengaluru

A consortium of banks led by Punjab National Bank took symbolic possession of an upcoming hotel on Race Course Loop Lane in Bengaluru. Owned by Hyderabad-based Viceroy Hotels, the 21-storey hotel allegedly defaulted on the repayment of a INR310.6 crore loan. In 2010, a JP Morgan fund had invested INR70 crore in the project, thereby picking up a significant stake. Construction loans were also borrowed from Punjab National Bank, IDBI, Union Bank of India and J&K Bank, during the same year. The hotel was planned to commence operations in March 2015, under Marriott International’s Renaissance brand.

China’s Inbound Tourism Saw Significant Growth in First Half of 2016

The year 2016 will become an important recovery year for China’s inbound tourism, according to statistics published by the China National Tourism Academy. From January to June 2016, inbound visitor arrivals to China have reached 67.87 million, a 3.8% increase compared to the same period last year. It is noteworthy that the growth in foreign tourist arrivals was at 9% – significantly higher than the growth in visitor arrivals from Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan respectively. Also in the first half of 2016, number of outbound tourists (59.03 million) was much lower than the inbound numbers. Owing to the depreciation of the Renminbi, improvement in air quality, as well as a safer tourism environment, it is anticipated that inbound tourism will continue to grow in the second half of 2016, with a projected increase of 4% as compared to H2-2015. In all, the growth of inbound tourism is expected to beat outbound tourism this year, breaking the record in the past few years.

Absolute Share Price Performance, as on 4 August 2016