Shilla Stay Expands Portfolio with Two New Properties, Including Debut in Busan

Shilla Hotels & Resorts’ premium business brand, Shilla Stay, announced the opening of two new properties in Seocho, Seoul, and Haeundae, Busan. While Shilla Stay Seocheo is an addition to Shilla Stay’s existing portfolio in Seoul, Shillla Stay Haeundae represents the company’s flagship hotel in Busan. Opened on 1 April, Shilla Stay Seocheo is located in Seoul’s Gangnam commercial district. The hotel offers a selection of 305 rooms across three categories, a guest lounge with self-service options like a laundry and cooking facilities, six function rooms, and a restaurant. The second property, Shilla Stay Haeundae, which opened on 18 April, is a few minutes’ walk away from the scenic Haeundae Beach. Featuring residential-style accommodation with a relaxed resort atmosphere, the hotel offers 407 rooms, a restaurant and rooftop pool.

New Casino Resort Project on the Way in Bavet, Cambodia

An integrated casino resort is set to be developed in the Bavet area of Cambodia. The resort, to be known as Empire World City, is close to Vietnam’s Moc Bai border crossing to Cambodia, and aims to bring in Vietnamese gamblers who are barred from participating in gaming at casinos in their home country. The developer, Virtue Resorts Corp. (VRC), has set a budget of US$200 million to construct this casino resort on 50 hectares of land. According to the plan, the integrated resort will include a casino, an online casino area, a hotel and a resort, along with a retail shopping mall. The ground-breaking ceremony took place earlier this month in Bavet City.  VRC hopes that the construction phase can begin by the end of this year and the first phase of the resort will be completed by end-2019. The new casino is expected to add a minimum of 3,000 new jobs as well as provide a boost to the local economy by bringing in Vietnamese players.

Changi Airport, SIA and STB Renew Partnership to Boost Tourism

Changi Airport Group, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will invest S$33.8 million to renew a three-year partnership in an effort to promote Singapore as an inbound travel destination. The partnership will continue to project Singapore as an attractive stopover and ‘twinning’ destination to travelers globally. Tourists visiting two destinations on a single itinerary, a practice known as twinning, would form a new target group. Another focused marketing strategy aims to improve upon an existing marketing program targeting corporate and MICE travelers. Additionally, the revamped Free Singapore Tour (FST) offered to transit travelers at Changi Airport will include more authentic experiences curated according to travelers’ interests. This new three-year long tripartite initiative comes on the heels of a highly successful partnership, and aims to grow tourism outcomes, especially the MICE and transit travelers’ segments.

Cambodia to Launch a Tourism Marketing Body

To help Cambodia achieve its target of seven million visitors by 2020, a central tourism marketing and advertising council for Cambodia is set to be launched by the end of this month. The goal of the tourism marketing body is to advertise Cambodia to the international market through various campaigns and initiatives, as well as to encourage the private sector to promote the destination. A five-year tourism masterplan has also been developed, which highlights the creation of new tourism products, infrastructure development, promotion of green resorts, and enhancement of quality and manpower within the industry. Tourism is a vital element for Cambodia’s economy, as the seven million inbound tourists will render approximately US$5 billion in tourist expenditure and directly support over a million jobs.

Singapore Tourism Office to Debut in Surabaya

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is launching its 21st office in Surabaya – the second largest city in Indonesia and the second largest source of arrivals from Indonesia into Singapore, after Jakarta. In 2016, Indonesia represented Singapore’s top source market, contributing a total of 2.9 million tourist arrivals. Cities in the east of Indonesia (Surabaya Malang, Bali and Makassar) represented over eight per cent of total arrivals (at 234,300 tourists). STB shared that visitors from Surabaya are, similar to those from Jakarta, mostly repeaters looking for quick and easy getaways. They are keen on shopping, entertainment and nightlife, and enjoy family friendly travel with emphasis on visiting attractions. There is also a growing interest in cruising out of Singapore. But compared with Jakarta visitors, they have stronger preference for hotels within Orchard Road area, with average length of stay being typically around three days. STB also plans to work with six airlines (Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Garuda Indonesia, Jetstar, China Airlines and Tigerair) with direct flights between Surabaya and Singapore to launch joint promotions.

Absolute Share Price Performance, as on 21 Apr 2017