Hong Kong-based HKR International’s (HKRI) second Sukhothai Hotels and Resorts-branded property will soon come up in Shanghai’s HKRI Taikoo Hui mixed-use complex.

Slated for an opening date in late 2017, The Sukhothai Shanghai will offer 168 guestrooms including 33 suites, and range from 44m2 to 172m2 in size. Facilities within the luxury boutique hotel include five F&B venues, a fitness centre, spa and a 25m-long indoor heated pool.

For meetings and events, the property will have a total function space of 650m2 across a ballroom and six multipurpose rooms on the second floor.

Set in a restored heritage building known as the “Cha House”, the Neri & Hu-design property – bounded on the north by Nanjing Road (West) and on the west by Shimen Yi Road – will be connected to retail shops, two office towers and the metro.

The HKRI Taikoo Hui mixed-use complex is jointly developed by HKR International and Swire Properties.

Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain, as well as Yemen, Libya’s eastern-based government and the Maldives yesterday announced the breaking of diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the tiny Gulf state of supporting extremism in the region.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain said it would close all transport links by land, sea and air with the Qatari peninsula. These three countries have also banned their citizens from travelling to Qatar, and have given Qatari residents and visitors two weeks to leave their territories.

This growing row is expected to immediately affect air travel in the region, as Qatar Airways is suspending all flights to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt “until further notice”.

All customers booked on affected Qatar Airways flights will be provided with alternative options, including the option of a full refund on any unused tickets and free rebooking to the Doha-based airline’s nearest alternative network destination, it stated on the website.

Other airlines in the affected countries, including Emirates, Etihad Airways, Bahrain’s Gulf Air, flydubai and Air Arabia, have also cancelled flights to and from Doha.

Tourism leaders are urging governments to be geo-specific when issuing travel advisories to prevent affected destinations from being further hit.

Speaking at last week’s Himalayan Travel Mart in Kathmandu, PATA CEO Mario Hardy said that it is essential that specific areas are isolated when disaster strikes in a country, rather than the country-wide warnings that are often issued.

He said: “Often millions of people are affected when the rest of the country is perfectly fine. I have an issue with that.”

Shiva Dhakal, managing director of Royal Mountain Travel, remarked: “Travel advisories have devastating effects, from causing livelihoods to suffer to travel insurance being issued. They need to be specific to prevent the entire industry from unnecessarily being affected.”

After the 2015 earthquake, a blanket travel warning on visiting Nepal was sent out, crippling the country’s recovery process and the tourism sector.

Of Nepal’s 78 districts, only 10 were affected by the earthquake, with many popular tourist destinations untouched.

Nepal Tourism Board CEO, Deepak Raj Joshi, said: “After the earthquake, people assumed it was the whole country. This was very damaging and we directly saw the impact it had on travel.”

Although the NTO approached many embassies to update the actual situation on the ground, many did not for several months. “This drastically slowed down the recovery,” he said.

Despite suffering no earthquake damage, businesses in popular Pokhara were badly impacted. Tejina Malla, assistant sales manager at Shangri-La Village Resort Pokhara, said: “We were not hit physically by the earthquake but we were hit very badly financially, and it’s only now starting to pick back up two years later.”

Joshi said Nepal’s slow recovery highlights the need for embassies and governments to work closely with tourism boards and tour operators on the ground to relay more accurate information.

The embattled Philippine travel trade is using every avenue to improve the destination’s image, following the latest attack of a heavy indebted gambler at the casino of Resorts World Manila (RWM) last Friday after a series of unfortunate events in recent months.

The RWM casino attack, which claimed 38 lives including the gambler’s, came on the heels of ongoing clashes between the military and ISIS affiliated terrorists in Marawi that led to the imposition of martial law in Mindanao. An earlier failed terrorist attack in Bohol and terrorist threats in central Visayas had also led to travel advisories from various countries.

Marlene Insigne, tours division manager, Southeast Travel Corp, said they immediately sent assurance to their clients and counterparts abroad, attaching the letter of Benjamin Santiago, director, National Capital Region (including Manila) on the Department of Tourism addressed to tourism stakeholders.

Santiago in his letter urged Philippine stakeholders to assure their counterparts abroad that Manila and the nearby regions remain a safe destination for visitors, emphasising accurate information dissemination is critical.

“We continue to work closely with you by providing you with reliable updates on matters that may affect tourism and your businesses and assist in minimising any adverse effect that may arise because of lack of information or worse, inaccurate reporting in the media,” he wrote.

Insigne said that a group of eight from the US has not cancelled their booking for this week at Belmont Hotel, part of the RWM complex, which she expects to have tighter security.

Bernadette de Leon, general manager, Amiable Intertours, said that while they can only “wait and see until things get better”, the Philippines still has time to recover its image.

De Leon said that the RWM attack is “an isolated case” and not an act of terrorism, adding that martial law in Mindanao is only for 60 days and will be lifted once the terrorists are defeated in Marawi.

Fe Abling-Yu, one of the founders of the Asia Premium Travel Mart (APTM) which will be held in Manila on June 20, said the mart is hit by some cancellations “but that this is also the best time to promote the Philippines”. She is also encouraged that there are over 10 APTM buyers and media who will go on a Davao fam trip.

On Facebook, travel agents began challenging their friends here and abroad to post pictures of the Philippines to show it as a great place. “Let’s counteract the negativity and help ourselves,” said Rajah Tours president Jojo Clemente.

An interest in cultivating new visitor source markets is apparent among Nepal’s tourism stakeholders at the inaugural Himalayan Travel Mart, which took place in Kathmandu last week.

Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board, said tour operators should target emerging markets such as Vietnam and Cambodia, away from the traditional sources of Europe, China and the US.

One of the temples in Lubmini, a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Nepal

He said: “We need to reach out to new markets where the economy and outbound tourism are growing rapidly.”

Home to many important Buddhist sites – the largest being Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha – Nepal appeals to many South-east Asian Buddhist countries, and this element needs to be pushed.

Suman Pandey, chairman of PATA Nepal, added: “We have more direct flights, and many of these countries can reach Nepal within three to four hours. Nepal needs to be promoted to these countries.”

Tapping into the youth sector from neighbouring India and Bangladesh for weekend getaways and short breaks is another viable segment, said Joshi.

Growing flight connectivity has made the country more accessible, coupled with new products such as ecolodges and community projects being developed in Kathmandu and the surrounding areas.

Shital Chandra Dharel, executive director of Himalaya Heart Treks and Expeditions, said: “While trekking or safaris may take a week or more, there are a lot of experiences in Kathmandu and the surrounding areas that can be enjoyed in a short few days.”

Ctrip has partnered Centara Hotels & Resorts, one of Thailand’s largest hotel groups, as it seeks to strengthen its presence in South-east Asia and offer products from a broader range of geographical locations.

The Chinese OTA giant will work with Centara on issues of supply support, online marketing, user rights protection and system direct connection, said deputy general manager of Ctrip hotel business, Xiao Yuan.

Ctrip is also expected to seize the opportunity from the cooperation to create more travel package deals in Thailand.

“Thailand is one of the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists, and will remain so for a long time. Therefore, through closer cooperation (with Centara), Ctrip’s overseas presence in Thailand will continue to deepen and will extend elsewhere in South-east Asia, better serving customers,” Xiao added.

Thomas Russell, Centara’s vice president, added: “Ctrip is Chinese tourists’ preferred website for booking outbound travel. With the support of Ctrip’s site traffic, we have a great opportunity for exposure, which will further enhance public awareness of our brand.”

According to data from Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, nearly 8.8 million Chinese travellers visited Thailand in 2016. Among them, 2.5 million (+91 per cent y-o-y) had used Ctrip, meaning that almost one in three Chinese tourists to Thailand booked through the OTA.

Xiao also noted that Ctrip will accelerate the pace of its overseas expansion this year. In addition to Thailand, Ctrip will also focus on Japan, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam and eight other countries.