TOURISM ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) signed an agreement last week pledging to work together to attract 25 million international visitors to the four countries by 2015, and to consider the possibility of implementing a single tourist visa.

During the CLMV Tourism Ministers’ Meeting held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 14, tourism ministers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam signed the Joint Plan on Tourism Cooperation 2013-2015.

Focused on ramping up joint tourism efforts, the pact laid out a roadmap to boost information exchange between the four countries, develop high-quality tourism products, attract investments to the tourism market and form partnerships with other nations and international organisations.

A significant goal in the agreement was the introduction of a joint target to bring in some 25 million international visitors to the four countries by 2015, of which four million are to be intra-country travellers.

To further promote the idea of ‘four countries, one destination’, the CLMV bloc is also considering combining tourist visas for international travellers to make country hopping easier, with Thailand likely to be the fifth partner in this scheme.

Any action on this issue however, is only likely to take place after all five countries have assessed the effectiveness of the joint tourist visa introduced by Thailand and Cambodia earlier this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 16, 2012).

The number of international tourists to CLMV countries has been on the rise over the last few years. The four countries jointly received more than 12.3 million visitors in 2011, a jump of 14.5 per cent year-on-year. Of that figure, 17 per cent were comprised of travellers from within CLMV.

SCANDINAVIAN Airlines (SAS) will suspend its daily Copenhagen-Bangkok flights from April 7, 2013 but will continue to operate the service during winter, citing lower-than-expected yields as well as growing competition from Thai Airways International (THAI) and Middle East carriers.

Both THAI and Qatar Airways operate direct flights to Stockholm and Oslo, while Emirates serves Copenhagen. Qatar has also announced plans to fly to Helsinki.

SAS has been operating the Copenhagen-Bangkok route since 1949 and was instrumental in helping to establish THAI – it previously held a stake in the latter and provided management and technical expertise. Several years ago, SAS decided to drop the Bangkok-Singapore tag-on and designated Bangkok as its hub for South-east Asia.

The two Airbus A340-300 aircraft that will be freed from the suspension of flights to Bangkok will be redeployed to SAS’ new Copenhagen-San Francisco service.

SAS will work with customers booked on the suspended flights to secure alternative travel arrangements with fellow Star Alliance member airlines, namely THAI and Singapore Airlines.

REGENT Hotels & Resorts (RHR), wholly owned by Formosa International Hotels Corporation, has signed a long-term Strategic Alliance Agreement for the Regent brand with Rezidor Hotel Group.

Effective immediately, Rezidor will exclusively develop and operate Regent hotels in Russia/CIS, the Baltics, the Middle East and Africa; and jointly develop and operate new Regent hotels across the rest of Europe. RHR will continue operating existing Regent hotels within Europe.

“Our cooperation (with Rezidor) will further strengthen our growth strategy, while RHR continues to focus primarily on luxury hotel residential mixed-use projects in the (EMEA) region. Together we hope to significantly increase the Regent hotel portfolio and international network,” said Steven Pan, chairman, Regent Hotels & Resorts.

Kurt Ritter, president & CEO, Rezidor, said: “The acquisition of the Regent brand and business by Formosa in 2010 allowed us to focus on our core brands Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson, and strengthen our network in 70 countries across EMEA. A luxury brand was however never off our agenda, and we are delighted to complement our portfolio with Regent now.”

A BUYER has expressed interest in the Mandarin Orchard Singapore and its affiliated shopping mall, Mandarin Gallery, both of which are owned by Singapore-listed property developer Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE).

OUE revealed in a filing on the Singapore Exchange yesterday that it had offered an unnamed potential buyer exclusive rights to conduct preliminary due diligence on the two properties.

The 1,051-room Mandarin Orchard Singapore – managed by Meritus Hotels & Resorts – and Mandarin Gallery were collectively valued at S$1.7 billion (US$1.4 billion) last year in the company’s annual report, with the hotel worth S$1.18 billion and the mall, S$520 million.

OUE, which derives 65 per cent of its revenue from hotel operations, emphasised in its filing that “no firm decision (had) been taken and no definitive agreement (had) been entered” into thus far.

The property developer bought Crowne Plaza Singapore last year, which is connected to Changi International Airport’s Terminal 3.

GENTING Group’s subsidiary in Singapore is selling a 4.8 per cent stake in Australia’s Echo Entertainment Group.

According to a report in Reuters, Genting Singapore revealed it was selling 39.6 million Echo shares at A$3.99 (US$4.16) per unit, valuing the stake at around A$158 million. The company currently holds close to 10 per cent in Echo shares.

Market observers say the move will allow Genting’s rival, Crown, to close in on Echo, operator of the The Star Sydney Casino & Hotel, which is known to attract scores of Asian high rollers.

Crown, controlled by Australian billionaire James Packer, already owns a 10 per cent share in Echo, and is seeking regulatory approval to increase the stake to 25 per cent.

Meanwhile, Genting Hong Kong sought to reassure shareholders that it would continue to hold on to its investment in Echo in a statement released yesterday. The company also said it remained committed to its application to acquire more than 10 per cent voting power in Echo.

CHIFLEY at Lennons Hotel Brisbane will be reopened in 2014 as the first Next Hotel, managed by SilverNeedle Hospitality.

SilverNeedle recently completed the A$57 million (US$59 million) purchase of the property, which it has been managing for the past 15 years, from Abacus Investment Group.

SilverNeedle’s flagship brand, Next Hotels & Resorts, is targeted at business travellers, and will focus on efficiency from point of booking through to final departure. Next Hotel will boast twice the number of rooms the Chifley currently has, from 150 to 300 rooms.

Iqbal Jumabhoy, managing director & group CEO, SilverNeedle Hospitality, said: “The rising demand for four- to four-and-a-half-star properties in Asia-Pacific together with Australia’s close proximity to Asia ensures that we are well equipped to meet demand from the growing influx of travellers.”

SilverNeedle Hospitality currently operates 67 properties in the region under the Grand Chifley, Chifley, Australis, Country Comfort and Sundowner brands, along with a portfolio of independent boutique hotels.

– Read View from the Top with Iqbal Jumabhoy in TTG Asia October 5, 2012

TAIWAN’S Taoyuan International Airport will receive a NT$463 billion (US$15.4 billion) boost in operational capacity with the addition of a new terminal, which is expected to be ready in 2018, according to Agence France-Presse.

Once the Taoyuan Aerotropolis project is complete, the airport is expected to be able to handle 75 million passengers a year. Work on the new terminal is slated to begin in 2014, with a NT$50 million budget.

Facilities will also be upgraded to include an aerospace industrial park and special zones for cargo and logistics, said Taiwan’s transportation ministry.

The project is expected to reap NT$2.3 trillion in economic benefits, create 260,000 jobs and add NT$84 billion in taxes to government coffers.

Plans for the airport’s makeover were first tabled five years ago, in the hopes of Taiwan catching up to its Asian neighbours, but were stalled in the face of budget constraints and land acquisition problems.

Taiwan has seen a growing influx of tourists from the Chinese mainland after relaxing travel controls in 2008. The island welcomed 1.8 million Chinese visitors last year, exacerbating the need for better infrastructure to handle the stream of tourists.

According to Taiwan’s tourism bureau, the country received a record 6.08 million international visitors in 2011, compared to 5.5 million the year before.