Luxury Asian brand Meritus Hotels & Resorts will open in July 2006 the Meritus Wanjia Spa Resort, Sanya, Hainan China, its fourth hotel in the People's Republic of China. The 188-room deluxe resort is built on beachfront land and two natural hot spring sources are present on site. Located in Sanya Bay, the newest tourist area, it is 10 minutes away from Sanya Phoenix International Airport and midway to downtown Sanya. All luxurious bedrooms and suites feature balconies, flat screen televisions, wireless broadband Internet access and state-of-the-art bathrooms with separate bath and shower areas. Other facilities include seven food and beverage outlets, a ballroom with a capacity to accommodate up to 310 people, a fully equipped business centre, an outdoor swimming pool, putting green, a comprehensive fitness centre and a spa.

Air India Express, the budget carrier of the state owned Indian airline is considering using the Low Cost/Budget Terminal in Singapore by the middle of this year when it starts daily services from Chennai to Singapore. The airline last month posted tender invitations on its website for the supply of a whole range of services, including technical and ground handling services at Changi International Airport, Singapore. Scheduled to open for operations later this month, Singapore's Budget Terminal is designed to initially cater to 2.7 million passengers per annum, while its bigger Kuala Lumpur counterpart can handle 10 million travellers. Currently, only Tiger Airways has committed itself to using the Singapore Budget Terminal.

Swire Pacific is considering setting up boutique hotels in Europe as it expands its hospitality business outside Asia. The management of Swire Properties indicated that the company is doing 'a thorough exploration' of major cities in the EU. The group intends to target 'well-to-do leisure travelers', and its new hotels will be near the centers of major cities. Swire Properties is one of Hong Kong's most prominent corporations and has partial ownership in the Conrad Hong Kong, the Island Shangri-La and the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong.

Accor signed an agreement for six new Ibis hotel in the Sichuan province for a development cost of about USD150 million. This follows the opening of another Ibis in Chengdu last October and precedes the opening of the Ibis Qingdao next month. Additionally, the first project - Ibis Tianjin - is opening a 70 room extension at the end of April. Both existing Ibis properties in China have been operating with occupancy levels over 90% since opening. The group is accelerating the development of its economy brand throughout the Asia Pacific region with the opening of two Ibis in Bangkok, two in Australia, one in New Zealand and in Seoul.