STR reported hotel RevPAR in China rose 31.5% the week ended January 14. When compared with the same week in 2019, RevPAR was down -28.1%.
The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the country has decided to resume outbound group travel to selected countries including Sri Lanka early next month. The pilot program will take effect on February 6 to allow travel agencies to open outbound group travel for Chinese citizens to 20 nations – Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, UAE, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Fiji, Cuba and Argentina.
The Philippines Dept. of Tourism said it is aiming to attract 4.8 million foreign visitors in 2023, almost double the 2.6 million in 2022. The initial goal in 2022 was 1.7 million arrivals. The Philippines welcomed 8.3 million visitor arrivals in 2019. The government recently introduced a new “eTravel” system to replace the old One Health Pass. They are also looking to boost domestic tourism by passing a new law that would see public holidays fall on a weekend moved to Monday, creating a three day long weekend.
Sri Lanka Tourism is looking at attracting 1.5 million tourist arrivals for 2023. They are optimistic about achieving revenue of US$2.8 billion from tourism for this year. They were able to achieve last year’s goal of 700,000 arrivals with a foreign revenue of Rs 1.2 million.
Accor and Ennismore will expand their portfolio with a series of key hotel and resort openings all across Southeast Asia in the year ahead. Thailand is a key market for the two groups and they will see new hotels and resorts in 2023. Ennismore’s TRIBE Bangkok Sukhumvit 39 is scheduled to open in Q2 2023 marking the debut of the TRIBE brand in Thailand. The 207 key Novotel Living Bangkok Sukhumvit Legacy by Accor will open in Q2 and introduce Novotel’s extended stay concept to the Thai capital’s Sukhumvit district. Also in Bangkok, the 178 key Mercure Bangkok Sukhumvit 60 will open in Q4 and the 666 key ibis Styles Bangkok Twin Towers will open in Q3. The latter will be the world’s largest ibis Styles hotel. Outside Bangkok, the 234 key Novotel Rayong Star Convention Centre will open this quarter while the Mercure Rayong Lomtalay Villas & Resort will debut its garden wing adding 133 rooms, suites and villas, four restaurants and bar along with MICE facilities. In Q4 the Grand Mercure Resort Ao Nang Krabi will debut with 200 keys. In Cambodia, the 232 key Novotel Sihanoukville Holiday Resort and 253 key Novotel Phnom Penh Boeng Keng Kong will open in Q2. In Vietnam, the 373 key Pullman Hai Phong will open in Q4. Singapore will be the 326 key Pullman Orchard Singapore in February, the first Pullman in the country. Later in Q2, the 342 rom Pullman Singapore Hill Street will open while the 302 key Mondrian Singapore Duxton by Ennismore will open in this current quarter. Indonesia will see the launch of the 224 key ibis New Yogyakarta International Airport this current quarter. In Q3, the 189 key Novotel New Yogyakarta Airport Kulon Progo and 150 key Mercure Pangkalan Bun will launch. The final quarter of the year will see the 158 key ibis Palembang Sanggar, 335 key Grand Mercure Lampung and two Movenpick properties – the 413 key Movenpick Bintan Lagoon Resort and 253 key Movenpick Jakarta Pecenongan. Finally in Malaysia, the 161 key ibis PJCC Petaling Jaya and 172 key Mercure Miri City Centre will open their doors by the middle of this year. Japan will welcome the 363 key Mercure Hotel Tokyo Haneda Airport in Q4. Accor and Ennismore signed a combined 30 hotels representing 8,700 keys across eight countries in Southeast Asia in 2022.
The new Handwritten Collection from Accor will see the Wonil Hotel Perth in Australia open at the Forrest Hall Precinct in early February 2023. The hotel has 66 short stay accommodation rooms.
Hyatt Place Hangzhou International Airport, the first Hyatt Place hotel in Hangzhou City, is officially open. The hotel has been developed by Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, Co., LTD. The hotel has 472 guestrooms including 24 suites and offers free breakfast plus The Kitchen which serves prepared meals anytime. The hotel includes a fitness center and 2,637 square feet of event space.
IHG Hotels & Resorts announced it entered exclusive negotiations to add a flagship Osaka hotel with more than 1,000 rooms to its Vignette Collection brand for the first time in Japan. IHG plans to enter into a long term agreement with The Royal Hotel, Limited and BentallGreenOak to add the RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka to its system in 2023. It will then relaunch as RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka – Vignette Collection in 2025 following an extensive refurbishment and repositioning of the asset. Royal Hotel had recently announced they would sell the land and buildings of its RIHGA Royal Hotel to a Canadian real estate investment firm, aiming to lure affluent international travelers by undergoing renovations.
Marriott’s Westin Hotels & Resorts announced the Westin Resort & Spa, Himalayas. The resort is near the yoga-capital of the world – Rishikesh. This is the 11th Westin hotel in India. The property features 141 guestrooms overlooking a valley, including one of a kind royal garden villas with private pools along with flexible meeting and event spaces, spanning 1,985 square meters. The resort includes four restaurants and bars, Rishikesh’s largest conference hall, a heated pool and an infinity pool with a swim-up bar. There is a 1,115 square meter wellness flor with a spa and fitness studio.
Lemon Tree Hotels announced the signing of its latest franchised hotel – Lemon Tree Resort, Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan. The property is expected to open in December 2023. It will feature 59 rooms, a restaurant, bar, meeting rooms and a swimming pool. Kumbhalgarh is known as the Great Wall of India.
Alturas Group unveiled a development on the island of Bohol in the Philippineswith the launch of Panglao Shores, a 57 hectare mixed-use project. The low-density, mixed-use development will integrate six hotels and resorts, retail, over 2,000 residential units and medical care in the same vein as the Laguna Phuket in Thailand. The project is located on the southern coast of Panglao, off the coast of Bohol. The heart of the project is the Town Square Retail Mall & Night Market, an indoor-outdoor hub of shopping, dining and entertainment. This will be surrounded by facilities and amenities, including commercial and retail, residential villages, a convention center, co-working spaces, international hotels and resorts and a beach club. Construction of the 188 room South Palms Resort is underway in Phase 1 with completion expected in 2024.