| Landmark Mandarin Oriental Opens for Business | Return to Headlines |
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Located in the heart of Central, Hong Kong, the Landmark Mandarin Oriental opened in August 2005, offering deluxe contemporary accommodation and state-of-the-art in-room facilities. This boutique hotel offers 113 rooms and suites, providing the largest average room size of any hotel in Hong Kong. The hotel also features unique and innovative dining concepts and two floors of spa facilities. Mandarin Oriental now operates, or has under development, more than 8,000 rooms in 17 countries with 12 hotels in Asia, 11 in the Americas and five in Europe. |
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| Hotel Site at Changi Airport New Terminal 3 Attracts Five Bids | Return to Headlines |
| The tender for a 60-year leasehold hotel site at Changi Airport's Terminal 3 attracted five bids when the expressions of interest exercise closed. Under the two-envelope system for the sale of the site, all submissions will be assessed on concept first before their prices are looked at. DTZ and HVS International have been appointed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore as hotel consultants to source for suitable investors in the project. The five bidders are mostly partnerships between developers (both local and overseas) with international hotel operators. The hotel is expected to be ready when the new terminal opens in early 2008. | |
| Millennium and Copthorne Hotels Opens First Property in Egypt | Return to Headlines |
| Millennium and Copthorne (M&C) Hotels announced the opening of its first property in Egypt, the Coral Beach Diving Hotel. The four-star property, managed under the "Millennium" brand, is also the first resort to open in the Port Ghalib Marina, a new leisure tourism destination on the South Red Sea. Located only minutes from the new Marsa Alam International Airport, the resort features 206 rooms and suites. Also, in the Middle East, M&C will manage the Millennium Hotel Doha in Qatar, which is scheduled to open in September 2006. Millennium Hotel Doha, which will be located in the diplomatic and commercial area of the city, will feature 250 rooms. | |
| Asian Tourism Industry to See Sharp Growth | Return to Headlines |
| In an industry event held in August 2005, analysts expect exponential growth in the tourism industry in Asia with major changes in travel patterns, both in types of travel and the profile of travellers. Some cities are finding that they may have to reinvent themselves to attract the numbers. Travel in Asia is set to shoot to record levels, with overall spending on travel and tourism in the region forecast to hit US$165 billion by 2014. Within that time frame, China is expected to become the second largest destination globally. In preparation for this, China is improving its infrastructure with approximately 80 airports being constructed and about 30,000 kilometers of highways over the next 20 years. By that time China will have some 293 million people with household incomes of more than $4,000 annually. While China opens its doors to more foreign tourists, the Chinese themselves are fast becoming globe-trotters. They are not seen as big spenders, but are willing and able to travel, and will dominate the volume and value markets. | |
| InterContinental to Manage Malaysian Hotel in Shah Alam | Return to Headlines |
| DRB-Hicom Berhad has announced that its 70%-owned indirect subsidiary, Horsedale Development Berhad, has appointed InterContinental Hotels Group (ICHG) to manage its hotel in Glenmarie in Shah Alam in the state of Selangor. Presently known as Pan Pacific Glenmarie Kuala Lumpur, the hotel will be known as Holiday Inn Glenmarie Kuala Lumpur from 1 October 2005 or a date to be mutually agreed between the parties. Featuring 264 guest rooms, the hotel is part of the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club complex which is situated on 350 acres of land, located between the business and commercial hubs of Subang, Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya. | |
| Adventure Tourism in India to Generate US$20 Billion by 2010 | Return to Headlines |
| Adventure tourism will emerge as one of the biggest foreign exchange earner for India and can generate US$20 billion by 2010. Adventure tourism was a major draw for international tourists, as nearly 40% of 3.54 million tourists, who visited India in 2004-05, came looking for escapades. Adventure tourism, which grew at over 20% last year, can double its growth rate as tourism industry achieved 15.3% growth rate in 2004-05. Barring few states like north Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Ladakh district in Jammu and Kashmir, where adventure tourism was being promoted, the potential of this segment in the country had not been exploited in full measure. With improved and enhanced infrastructure and connectivity at adventurous spots centres, India could achieve the target of 5 million tourist arrivals per annum in the coming years. | |
| Absolute Share Price Performance, as at 2 September 2005 |
