STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts has announced plans to open six new hotels in Australia and the Pacific this year under the Sheraton brand name.

Sean Hunt, regional vice president, Pacific, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, said: “We are embarking on a milestone year for Starwood’s growth and development in the Pacific.

“I am confident that the strength of our brands, especially Sheraton, will fulfil robust demand for upper-scale hospitality offerings in Australia, the region’s mature market, as well as in emerging resort isles – providing a range of excellent facilities for both business and leisure travellers.”

The new hotels to open this year are: Sheraton Melbourne Hotel; Four Points by Sheraton Brisbane; Sheraton Resort & Spa, Tokoriki Island, Fiji; Sheraton New Caledonia Deva Resort & Spa; Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Resort; and Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Hotel.

Sheraton Melbourne’s opening heralds the return of the brand after nearly 10 years’ absence, and will offer guests 174 rooms, a signature restaurant, Terrace Bar, heated indoor pool, business centre and more than 650m² in meeting space.

The 246-key Four Points by Sheraton Brisbane is set to debut in March, with meeting rooms, a fully equipped gym, all-day dining restaurant, casual café/bar and high-speed Internet access.

In the Pacific, the Sheraton Resort & Spa, Tokoriki Island, Fiji will be launched in March. It has 101 guestrooms, an outdoor pool, a “Gold Class” theatre for up to 50 guests, three F&B outlets, a spa and state-of-the-art functions spaces.

Newly built Sheraton New Caledonia Deva Resort & Spa will open in July featuring 180 rooms, two large meeting spaces, and a house reef for diving and snorkelling.

Starwood will bring the Sheraton brand to Samoa this year through the recently signed management agreement for the 140-key Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Resort and 198-room Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Hotel.

Both will offer large outdoor fantasy pools, restaurants and bars and meeting spaces.

PATA is calling for responses from young Asian travellers for a study on their demographic, which has caught the attention of the international travel trade as Asian economies boom.

The survey is open to travellers between 16 and 35 years of age from Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand and Vietnam.

Answers will be used in a new report called The Rise of the Young Asian Traveller, scheduled to be launched in April.

All participants will be entered into a prize draw for a two-night stay at Aloft Hotel Sukhumvit 11 Bangkok, among others.

The survey is available here in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai, and will run until March 14.

SILVERNEEDLE Hospitality will add Country Comfort Ballarat to its Australian network from March 1, marking the company’s eighth property in the state of Victoria.

Country Comfort Ballarat is a 25-key hotel situated in the former gold mining town of Ballarat, minutes away from the city centre.

It features two function rooms, a restaurant, bar and free Wi-Fi in all guestrooms.

CARLSON Rezidor Hotel Group this week launched two new international hotel brands – the technology-focused Radisson Red and luxury Quorvus Collection.

The hotel company hopes to position Radisson Red within a new industry category, Lifestyle Select, denoting an upscale, select service concept that recognises the growing importance of technology in the daily lives of travellers.

Part of the Radisson Red focus on technology will extend to a mobile app allowing guests to skip reception for check-in, place orders for food or taxis, manage their guest preferences and in-room environment through their devices.

Carlson Rezidor will roll out the brand simultaneously in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific in 2015.

The second brand, Quorvus Collection, is a portfolio of curated luxury, five-star hotels that promises to offer a distinctive experience. Each will feature a list of services based on six core lifestyle elements: Wellness, Replenishment, Style, Inspiration, Entertainment and Connectivity.

The first members of the Quorvus Collection will be unveiled in 2Q2014, according to a Carlson Rezidor media statement.

Trudy Rautio, president and CEO of Carlson Rezidor, called the two new brands “the first manifestations” of Carlson’s Vision 20/20 that aims to improve guest experiences through technological innovations and guest service.

Radisson Red and Quorvus Collection join Carlson Rezidor’s stable of brands that include Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inns & Suites by Carlson.

THE Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has formed technical teams in Mumbai and New Delhi airports to perform random safety checks on aircraft belonging to foreign airlines, imposing penalties for lapses.

Checks will cover aircraft hardware and mandatory documents such as the Air Operating Certificate and cabin crew licences, according to a checklist based on ICAO recommendations.

Penalties range from warning the airline to comply within a specified time frame and grounding the aircraft to denying the airline the right to fly into India for major safety violations.

The move comes after the US’ Federal Aviation Administration downgraded India’s aviation safety ranking two weeks ago (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 4, 2014).

Rajendra Churiwala, director-east, IATA Agents Association of India, said: “Safety checks are quite normal, it is the intensity of such checks that could determine what kind of impact it will have on international carriers flying to India.”

Ariana Afghan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and SriLankan Airlines were most recently penalised for safety lapses, said a DGCA source.

MALAYSIA may have taken the top spot as the best destination for Muslim travellers but Japan has demonstrated the most commitment to bettering its facilities for this market segment.

Singapore-based Muslim travel specialist Crescentrating yesterday released its annual ranking of destinations that cater best to the needs of Muslim travellers, which saw Malaysia in pole position again (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 21, 2013). Main criteria taken into account include the suitability of the destination for family holidays, service levels, Muslim-friendly facilities and marketing initiatives aimed at Muslim travellers.

Japan rose from 50^th spot last year to 40^th currently, showing the greatest improvement of all countries surveyed.

Singapore’s The Business Times  quoted Crescentrating chief executive, Fazal Bahardeen, as saying: “Japan has definitely been the most active destination during the last year to focus on this segment of travellers”

“It has launched a number of initiatives – from awareness programmes to the local industry to releasing the Muslim travel guide to Japan (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 19, 2013).”

Crescentrating’s release also noted that a number of airports in Japan now offer halal food and prayer rooms.

This year’s survey ranked 60 destinations, 10 more than in 2013.

For countries within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the United Arab Emirates took second place followed by Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia to round up the top five.

Singapore leads as the number one halal friendly destination outside the OIC for the second year running. South Africa, Thailand, the UK and Bosnia & Herzegovina made up the rest of the top five.

LONG-STANDING political tensions were no barrier for Chinese travellers looking for sun, surf and gaming as arrivals from China to the Philippines surged a dramatic 69.9 per cent year-on-year in 2013.

Travel consultants said this affirmed the Philippines’ appeal as a top beach destination. Oliver Sison, general manager at Far Eastern Travel Agency, said Chinese travellers love the beach and “primarily Boracay and (its) party atmosphere”.

China was the Philippines’ fourth biggest source market according to Department of Tourism (DoT) statistics, totalling 426,352 arrivals and a 9.1 per cent total market share in 2013.

DoT attributed this to better air connections and more cruise itineraries, which together supported the NTO’s “aggressive marketing activities” in cities such as Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen and Beijing.

Gambling is also proving to be a strong attraction, especially in Manila. Said Sison: “Resorts World Manila is (in Manila), Solaire (Resort & Casino) has just opened, and City of Dreams is under construction. That’s a step in the right direction if we want more of the Chinese market.”

Miggie Macasinag, general manager of Roman International Travel and Tours, concurred, sharing that two fully booked charters from Xiamen to Legazpi City in Bicol were organised recently for Misibis Bay Resort, with the main draw being the resort’s newly added gambling facilities.

The Philippines welcomed 4.7 million foreign visitors in 2013, surpassing the 4.3 million recorded in 2012 by 9.6 per cent despite the devastating earthquake and super typhoon that hit late last year.

Taiwan’s travel ban on the Philippines cut arrivals by 35.8 per cent, particularly from June to September. Taiwan became the Philippines’ seventh largest source, down from fifth place in 2012.