| Starwood Hotels And Resorts Opens Sheraton Mysuru Hotel In Mysuru City, Karnataka, India | Return to Headlines |
| Starwood Hotels and Resorts has announced its agreement with India’s Brigade Enterprises Limited to manage the Sheraton Mysuru Hotel in Mysuru City, Karnataka, India. Scheduled to open in 2011, the Sheraton Mysuru Hotel is part of a four-acre integrated development which comprises high-end retail and office space. The 200-room hotel is likely to offer four food and beverage outlets, approximately 1,950 square metres of meeting space, a health club and spa, and a business centre. As the first international hotel chain to enter the Mysuru City, the Sheraton Mysuru Hotel plans to target the commercial market segment in this emerging commercial hub with major investments in information technology, infrastructure and residential development projects in the pipeline. | |
| Tourist Arrivals Reach New Heights In Korea During October | Return to Headlines |
| According to the Korea National Tourism Organisation (KNTO), South Korea recorded a historic high of 600,000 tourist visitors in a one-month observation period during the month of October 2007. Chinese tourists formed the majority of this record figure and plans are underway to further facilitate access via easier applications of entry visas. The KNTO is also targeting elderly Japanese who have been frequent visitors to Korea. Traditionally, October has been recording strong visitation levels due to its favourable weather conditions and KNTO officials are projecting a 3.2% annual growth at the end of 2007 from 2006 on the back of this positive outlook. | |
| Berjaya Land Berhad To Build Mixed-Use Development In Ho Chi Minh City | Return to Headlines |
| Malaysia's Berjaya Land Berhad (BLB) and Vietnam’s Ky Hoa Tourist and Trading Company Limited (Ky Hoa) have signed an In-Principle Agreement (IPA) to develop a mixed-use development consisting of three 48-storey office towers, one 48-storey hotel tower, one 48-storey hotel residences tower and one eight-storey shopping mall. Under the agreement, BLB will lease the 6.6-hectare land, located in District 10 of Ho Chi Minh City, for a period of 50 years at a cost of US$162 million from Ky Hoa. At the end of the lease, BLB will transfer all assets in the project to Ky Hoa without compensation. The estimated total development cost of the project is US$700 million and it is expected to achieve US$1.2 billion in gross development value. Relevant approvals from the authorities are currently being processed. | |
| Hotel Nikko Shanghai To Open In March 2009 | Return to Headlines |
| Japan's Nikko Hotels International continues its expansion in China with its announcement of the construction of a 388-room Hotel Nikko in Shanghai, scheduled to open in March 2009. The proposed hotel will be located in Shanghai Yuchang Real Estate Development Co Ltd's Manpo International Plaza, a mixed-use development consisting of the five-star hotel, two luxury residential developments and a high-end office development at the corner of Yan An West Road and Zhen Ning Road, in Shanghai's Puxi area. Hotel Nikko Shanghai is expected to offer 388 guestrooms, six food and beverage outlets, banquet rooms, meeting rooms, a business centre, a swimming pool, a fitness centre, spa facilities and a parking garage. | |
| MFS Diversified Group Completes Two Hotel Sales To Hedley Leisure And Gaming Property Fund For Approximately US$24.6 Million | Return to Headlines |
| MFS Diversified Group has concluded the sale of two hotels in Queensland to Hedley Leisure and Gaming Property Fund (HLG) for a total of approximately US$24.6 million, comprising US$17.1 million cash and US$7.5 million in HLG securities. The two hotels, the Shamrock Hotel, Mackay and the Hermit Park Hotel, Townsville, were sold for approximately US$17.4 million and US$7.2 million, respectively. The MFS Diversified Group had earlier purchased the Shamrock Hotel and Motel and the Hermit Park Hotel in 2006 for approximately US$14.3 million and US$5.2 million, respectively. According to the MFS Diversified Group General Manager, Lynn-Maree Travers, the two properties were sold as part of the Group’s divestment strategy to streamline the company's portfolio which focuses on retail, commercial and industrial sectors. | |
| The United States Likely To Become An Approved Tourism Destination For China | Return to Headlines |
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The United States and China have expressed the hope to conclude the signing of an Approved Destination Status (ADS) memorandum of understanding by end-2007 to facilitate Chinese tourists visiting the United States. According to the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), 2.35 million tourists travelled between the United States and China in 2006, of which the American tourists made up 1.71 million, a year-on-year increase of 9.95%. A report by the United States Department of Commerce's Office of Travel and Tourism Industries indicated that China is the 10th most popular destination for American tourists in 2007 as compared to the 16th in 2000. However, the number of Chinese travellers to the United States remains limited as they can only visit the country on a business visa. The American tourism industry hopes to welcome more Chinese visitors once the country joins the existing 132 countries and regions on China's tourist destination list. |
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| Absolute Share Price Performance, as at 9 November 2007 |
