Destination Singapore Beach Road has appointed Steven Tang as its general manager.
Bringing nearly 30 years of hospitality experience to the table, Tang started his career as a regional marketing manager in a travel agency before he joined the sales teams at various established hotels in Singapore.
He was later chosen to be in a leadership development programme and held several hotel operation management roles while being groomed to become a general manager.
Asia’s travel and tourism sector is progressively joining the fight against human trafficking – which includes the sexual exploitation of children and women – as the region remains one of the world’s hotspots for this modern day scourge.
Criminals have become more sophisticated and organised with the advent of the Internet, online social networks and new ways of travelling in what C9 Hotelworks’ managing director Bill Barnett termed the “gentrification of the institutional sex industry” in his 2018 report, Of Condos and Condoms.
Harrowing are the latest statistics from the International Labor Organization (ILO). Roughly 40.3 million people across the world were victims of modern slavery in 2016, including 24.9 million in forced labour. The latter is divided into: 16 million in domestic work, construction and agriculture in the private sector; 4.8 million sexually exploited adults and children; and four million in state-imposed forced labour.
Asia-Pacific accounted for almost two-thirds of the 24.9 million forced labour victims. “More than seven in 10 victims of forced sexual exploitation worldwide were found in the Asia and Pacific region. Although males are also victims of sexual exploitation, they are overwhelmingly outstripped by females,” ILO said.
Such is the dark side of tourism, rooted in poverty and the unintended downside of the growth in travel and tourism. Actual numbers are likely higher as these crimes are clandestine in nature and many go unreported.
In ECPAT Thailand’s 2017 report, Sexual Exploitation of Children in Southeast Asia, author Deanna Davy wrote: “Whilst traditional destinations for foreign child sex offenders such as Thailand and the Philippines continue to attract child sex offenders, countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia are increasingly becoming popular destinations as well.
“Countries that had in the past not been affected by the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) on a significant scale, such as Laos and Myanmar, are becoming increasingly popular tourism destinations and studies suggest that SEC is now in these countries also, albeit on a lesser scale than that which is occurring in more popular SEC hotspots in other countries,” Davy noted.
Inadvertently, Asia’s hospitality industry has become the unwitting accomplice in human trafficking as aircraft and land transport, hotels and home rentals, and other sectors are the main points of contact between the perpetrators and their victims.
Yet, the growing industry with its vast value chain and workforce – travel and tourism created 319 million jobs worldwide and one in 10 jobs in Asia-Pacific in 2018, according to WTTC – is also in a vantage position to combat human trafficking.
The levels of commitment to stem human trafficking vary, from companies integrating CSR initiatives into its operations to raising the public’s and employees’ awareness – all part of the Tourism Child-Protection Code of Conduct launched in the US several years ago, which is the world’s only voluntary set of business principles to prevent child trafficking.
“Asia is no longer a Third World entity. Applying the same rigorous human trafficking approach in the East as they do in the West is needed. It’s long overdue and comes down to hotels and tourism doing the right thing,” Barnett told TTG Asia.
IATA approved a resolution in 2018 committing to anti-trafficking initiatives such as sharing of best practices among airlines, staff training to spot and report potential trafficking cases, and urging the government to establish mechanisms for the reporting of potential trafficking activity.
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines’ (AAPA) director general, Andrew Herdman, said that AAPA is “fully supportive” of IATA’s range of initiatives, as aviation plays a key role “in assisting governments and national law enforcement agencies in combating such criminal activities”.
Since February, the government has enlisted national carrier and AAPA member Thai Airways to play anti-trafficking inflight videos on its international routes.
The videos are also being shown in airports, shopping malls, movie theatres, train stations and other tourist hotspots as part of the Thai government’s efforts in tackling human trafficking.
Elsewhere, AirAsia has started training staff to spot and stop human trafficking since two years ago. Mun Ching, head of Air Asia Foundation, shared: “We have trained over 1,200 staff and crew as of now, and we plan to introduce the training for ground staff next year.
“We don’t have numbers and actual reports that we can share as these are investigative matters, but we can confirm that suspected trafficking cases have been identified and reported by our crew.”
Marriott International has implemented its human trafficking awareness training in Asia-Pacific since last year. “As of end-June, 77 per cent of our on-property associates across Asia-Pacific have completed the training. And the completion rate averages 85 per cent across the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia,” said Yuen Kwan Cheung, senior manager, corporate communications and social impact, Asia-Pacific.
All of Marriott’s on-property associates worldwide would have completed the training by 2025. New associates are required to complete the training within the first 90 days of employment as part of Marriott’s 2025 sustainability and social impact goals.
Homesharing behemoth Airbnb leverages technology in its collaborations with local law enforcement officials and anti-trafficking advocates around the world to stop trafficking and hold criminals accountable.
A spokesman in Asia-Pacific said: “Airbnb uses sophisticated technology and risk scoring of every reservation to try and prevent incidents from occurring.”
He added that the company recently partnered anti-trafficking organisation Polaris “to combine their long-standing expertise with the innovation and scale of the sharing economy to take a modern approach to modern slavery”.
Meanwhile, ridehailing giant Grab joined hands with Liberty Shared in January to train its drivers to spot and report human trafficking crimes.
“The training will be updated to include modules specifically aimed to protect and support women and children, and (Grab) will work with local governments in their respective countries to support the implementation of the training programmes,” said Arvi Lopez, public relations manager of Grab Philippines.
“Grab plans to roll out in-app training materials to driver-partner apps by year-end, starting from the Philippines and Cambodia, where the incidence of human trafficking is high.
“Grab’s customer experience representatives will also undergo a training programme to equip them with the skills to manage reports of human trafficking flagged by driver-partners, even as Grab is already working with the local police in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia (to combat trafficking),” Lopez said.
Besides Thailand, the Philippines has also recently stepped up anti-human trafficking initiatives, backed by various government agencies such as the Department of Tourism as well as global networks, ECPAT International and Friends International, which both actively protect women and children in various Asian countries.
Philippine tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said that as anti-human trafficking is part of tourism’s sustainability ethos, they will also provide trainings and seminars for the safety of women and children, and help train tourism frontliners to play a role in prevention.
Indeed, while tourism boosts economic growth, it can also endanger the lives of the most vulnerable groups in society, including children and women, if not carried out responsibly and with proper planning.
CG Global has a vast number of companies and brands under its portfolio. How is your hospitality business growing?
Our hospitality business, which is housed under the aegis of two arms, CG Hotels & Resorts and CG Hospitality, has done extremely well. One deals with our hard asset investments, the other deals with operating capabilities on our own or in partnerships.
Recently, we opened The Fern Residency in Bharatpur, Nepal, an iconic asset with tremendous reviews. We brought the Taj brand back to Nepal after a spell of over 20 years, as Taj Hotels & Resorts had to stop operations in Nepal during the Maoist insurgency. Meghauli Serai, a Taj Safari Lodge in Chitwan National Park, opened last year, and Vivanta Kathmandu, opened earlier this year.
At the moment we are working towards Taj Dubai, a very prestigious project for us. Hopefully, it will open in October this year.
After the buyout of The Farm at San Benito in the Philippines, what is your expansion strategy for the wellness brand?
We have a well-thought-out expansion strategy for The Farm brand. We want to introduce The Farm in other destinations like South and South-east Asia, the US and Europe. We have already almost finalised our presence in Phuket through a joint venture.
We are exploring the possibility of an appropriate location in Europe, some place within a one-hour flight time from major cities in the continent and yet highly flexible in terms of providing top-notch services. We zeroed in on a region called Istria in Croatia, and we expect to have The Farm in Europe in 18 months’ time.
We don’t want The Farm to be in every nook and corner like other wellness brands. We want to be selective. We are happy if we can have five properties under the brand in five different destinations across the globe.
Do you think the market sees you more as a hotel investor, rather than someone who has played a key role in establishing brands owing to your association with names like the Taj, Fern and The Zinc Journey?
That’s not really true. Our role in the growth of the hospitality industry is reinforced by the prominence we get at trade events. We are considered perhaps as one of the most versatile hospitality groups which has its own investment arm, owns properties, and has its own management companies across the business, economy and upper-midscale segments. We own and operate globally known brands like The Farm. We also take pride in our partnerships and joint ventures with globally acclaimed names like the Taj.
Investment is a very important part of our strength. Most operators don’t want to invest. We are happy to invest if we see the opportunity. We are ready to have skin in the game. To an investor or a developer that is a very good news that there is somebody who is not just happy to manage a property but also ready to invest.
You had plans to expand your portfolio of hotels under The Zinc Journey brand. Can you tell us more?
The Zinc Journey is going through a phase of consolidation. We have three Zinc Journey hotels in Sri Lanka, two in China and one in Nepal. We are opening one in Bhutan. We are in the process of taking the brand to the next level through standardising the offering and then presenting it on a much bigger scale in the market. Once that happens we will open this portfolio for joint ventures, co-investment and co-development.
We will also put together a very high-end management team. At present these properties are managed by different partners. We want to create a new version that is younger and vibrant in its approach while also making money.
We are working to have three properties in Rajasthan to create a Zinc Journey circuit. I see potential for an experiential brand like The Zinc Journey in markets like Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. Asia offers immense vast experiences from culture to adventure. I view many Asian destinations well placed for a brand like The Zinc Journey.
You have spoken about the potential of inbound tourism and your plans to enter this market. What are you doing on this front?
Our interest in inbound is presently confined to our partnership with &Beyond South Africa. We used to have a majority stake but now we have a stake of 26 per cent in the partnership. The company handles high-end inbound business as well as conference business. They are doing a great job.
We have been trying to associate with an inbound tour operator with a presence in key source markets of the Indian subcontinent. At one point we were talking to a Turkey-based tour operator but that somehow didn’t materialise. We are not going to (earn billions) by having an inbound operation but we are going to make our properties comfortable. Inbound tour operators can at times open unexpected new avenues and new channels of distribution.
How are you helping in the development of Nepal’s tourism sector?
I call myself a very small man from a very small country. The only thing I had was a big dream – and that’s what helped me. I should not say I am helping Nepal. Nepal is my name, my identity. People know me as Binod Chaudhary of Nepal. I want to see Nepal as the most prosperous country in the region; it is not though, but it has the opportunity to be one.
Nepal can create brands and entrepreneurs that are recognised worldwide. I am showcasing Nepal as a high-end tourism and hospitality destination by opening world-class tourism products like Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari. Our conglomerate of businesses spread across the world has also brought global attention to Nepal and help to grow corporate travel in some way.
We are working together with Melinda Gates Foundation to provide opportunities to youngsters who have ideas but no capital. We have also created a spiritual destination in Nepal with Shashwat Dham where already 2.7 million people have visited.
With just a year to go until its October 2020 launch, Expo 2020 Dubai stakeholders are leaving no stone unturned in promoting the city for “the world’s greatest show” that will be held from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
Sumathi Ramanathan, director of destination marketing at Expo 2020, hopes the six-month-long mega event will be a showcase of “the Olympics of culture, innovation, design and human excellence” and showcase Dubai as “a destination with a purpose”.
Expo 2020 is also set to be “a record breaking expo” in many parameters, she stated. As the first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region in the event’s 168-year history, the event is set to welcome 192 participating countries and 25 million visitors – 70 per cent of which is projected to be international.
Big architecture names the likes of Santiago Calatrava, and Foster and Partners are some of the creative forces behind the globe-trotting range of pavilions, which have been themed along the lines of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability across the 4.4km² site, said Ramanathan.
The site’s centerpiece will be the Al Wasl Plaza, which will boast a dual projection screen, while other iconic landmarks include the Al Forson Park, which is conceived as a venue for major entertainment events and concerts. In addition, the expo site will also feature a brand-new metro station.
A vibrant roster of 60-plus live events each day, from A-list concerts to light shows, will guarantee that Expo 2020 is “bustling throughout 365 days”, which comes on top of 200-plus F&B venues serving up a globe-trotting plate of experiences in one destination, said Ramanathan. In addition, the National Day celebrations of the 192 participating countries each day from January 13 to April 8, 2021 is set to be another “drawcard” for international visitors.
A whole raft of experiences also await business travellers at the mega site, which will also set the stage for best-in-class business week, TED-style talks, exhibitions, forums and workshops, she added.
With such a dynamic and vibrant menu of events and programming in the line-up, Ramathan is hopeful that Expo 2020 Dubai will overturn perceptions of world expos as “tradeshows or for business travellers only”.
Working along the tourism entities in the UAE, Expo 2020 Dubai has mapped out a two-pronged global strategy to drive international visitation, with a global consumer marketing campaign just launched across 30 key markets, while a B2B2C approach will be undertaken to collaborate with some 4,000 industry partners across key source markets worldwide.
“An authorised ticket reseller programme has been launched to enable the trade to bundle and package the UAE, inclusive of the Expo 2020, as a unique experience,” informed Ramathan. Europe, China and India have been identified as among the top 10 visitor markets for the expo, while Singapore and Malaysia has been recognised as priority markets in South-east Asia, she added.
“We are interested in working with the trade in growth and frontier markets to co-create campaigns with them. Instead of going direct to consumers, we feel there is an opportunity for us to engage very closely with the OTAs or tour operators and travel agents to create consumer awareness campaigns with them,” revealed Ramathan. “We have set aside funding for co-op marketing, and we’re also providing fam trips to agents and a whole raft of training materials to help them to sell the expo.”
Corporate visitation will be another market Expo 2020 Dubai is keen to attract. “Incentive providers now get a six-month-only opportunity to bring corporate clients to a venue no one else has brought them to before,” said Ramathan. Not only will the expo site have several venues that can be privatised for corporate events, she added that teambuilding, incentives and meetings can be easily organised on the grounds, which also has the 48,000m² Dubai Exhibition Centre co-located within the site.
The response from the trade has been “fantastic”, said Ramathan. “We have a quite a number of enquiries from specialised groups. For example, architectural itineraries are proving to be very popular with architectural associations. We also have interest from the fintech industry for tours to look at movement of data and artificial intelligence, and also interest from businesses looking at sustainable resourcing, climate change, etc. All these topics are being explored at the world expo.”
The diverse offerings clearly make Expo Dubai a “bleisure” destination, she stated. The agency has received “excited” reactions from the trade looking to create itineraries for families, stopovers for honeymooners, students, as well as “considerable interest” from niche and specialist tour operators in food, art and entertainment seeking to “expand their business opportunities”.
When asked if this mega event will help to enable the Middle East to shed its stopover image, Ramathan said: “Expo 2020 gives good reason for the world to stop in the UAE and see the world in the UAE.”
Move over, millennials and Generation Zs. A new generation of travellers – Generation Alpha – is becoming an emergent force in influencing travel purchase decisions, and industry players are taking note.
While the youngest members of Gen Alpha are still toddlering, they’re already ruling the roost when it comes to family travel, said Wendy Olson Killion, global vice president, business development, Expedia Media Solutions, who shared research findings from the group’s Generation Alpha & Family Travel Trends study at WIT 2019.
Gen Alpha, which refers to those born after 2010 – the same year that iPad and Instagram debuted – are expected to be truly “digital natives”. Added Killion: “Kids have always influenced family travel, but Gen Alpha will be the first generation to do so with data.”
According to the Expedia study, which surveyed more than 9,000 parents and grandparents across nine markets, many travel decisions that families make are done to satisfy Gen Alpha, even if this tech-savvy generation has yet to make any travel purchases themselves.
On average globally, families with Gen Alphas are taking more than three family trips a year, including at least one bleisure trip. For family travellers, location (41 per cent), family needs (39 per cent) and price (36 per cent) weigh heavily in accommodation decisions, significantly more than the appeal of deals and promotions (21 per cent).
This spells good news for travel marketers, as families with Gen Alpha are prioritising experiences over expenses, Killion stated.
Zelia Leong, co-founder & CEO of Anywhr, a Singapore-based travel curator that plans mystery trips for clients, also noted that price is a lesser concern for family travel, for whom safety and convenience are bigger influencing factors.
“Millennial parents are not ready to give up travel, but instead plan and revolve their travel destinations around their family needs,” she shared. For instance, her clients with young families would ask for hotels to be picked based on the availability of nearby attractions or beaches, or the itinerary to be planned with just one core activity each day.
However, industry watchers caution against neglecting other market segments. After all, it is senior travellers who are still driving the majority of revenue in the travel industry, said Sojern’s chief solutions officer Kurt Weinsheimer, based on data the travel marketing technology company has found.
“Multi-generational travel is funded by the older generation to destinations chosen by the younger generation,” he remarked.
Travel agencies may have to enhance their market expertise and engagement as hotels look to funnel more consumers towards direct booking channels, potentially widening the gap in the hotel-agent relationship.
Speaking at the Hotel Revenue Distribution Summit in Singapore earlier this year, hospitality players expressed greater confidence in increasing direct bookings and reducing their reliance on OTAs, whose rapid expansion in the past decade have dominated the booking process. Hotels are now balancing their OTA partnerships with reinvestments into other distribution channels.
This forewarns that hoteliers may also re-examine the place of traditional travel agencies in their distribution strategies.
Ludovic Cacciapaglia, assistant vice president global distribution, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, said: “If we want to work with other channels like TMCs, we must ask how can they help us better reach our target market and how can they impact my hotel.”
The ability to effectively engage and capture target markets is the linchpin agencies need to keep the hotel-agent relationship intact.
Cacciapaglia noted that hotels have the option of many other distribution channels, and to determine which ones are a good fit, hoteliers must understand their target geographical source markets.
“For example, it is important to know the booking window of a market, and their different lead times and touchpoints,” he said.
Such market expertise is critical but uncommon in the hospitality sphere, even with a wealth of data available. For instance, Brett Henry, president director, MG Group, raised the example of millennials, which have become a generalised target segment that in actuality exhibit distinct preferences across different geographical markets.
He said: “The concept of millennials is at a level too high to target for real results. (Hotels) need to be more tactical and have their ears to the ground; they need to be much more focused and targeted to a specific group.”
The next avenue that hotels may be turning their eye to are “bigger players that are making moves on bed banks and tour operators,” opined Cacciapaglia.
Universal Beijing Resort (UBR) has signed a strategic partnership with Alibaba Group to elevate the guest experience through the use of smart technology and digitisation of operations at the upcoming theme park, which is slated to open in 2021.
UBR is owned by Beijing International Resort, a joint venture between Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment and Universal Parks & Resorts, which operates under Comcast NBCUniversal.
Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation, said: “We put significant thought into the experiences we create for our guests. That experience is about more than our great rides and attractions. It’s about making it fun and easy for our guests to enjoy their time with family and friends. Our partnership with Alibaba will help us do exactly that. Together, we can take the theme park experience to a new level.”
Daniel Zhang, executive chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, added: “This partnership will also bring to fruition a multi-dimensional data-enabled operations management solution for the industry and create a truly digitised theme park. The future of commerce is driven by technology and big data, and digitisation will be the source of brand-new growth opportunities for all businesses.”
UBR will leverage the Alibaba business operating system – a complete suite of services and digital tools – to digitise the operations and management of the theme park to offer guests convenience even before they leave their homes, said the companies in a joint statement.
For example, through integration with Alibaba’s online travel platform Fliggy, visitors will be able to buy tickets and book hotels through the UBR flagship store with a few simple swipes on their phones.
UBR guests will also have the option of using Alipay’s facial-recognition technology across the resort, from park entry and storage lockers to express-lane access and even payment for merchandise and meals.
Alibaba’s local service application, Koubei, will provide F&B recommendations based on guests’ preferences, and enable online meal purchases to minimise wait time.
Tmall, Alibaba’s premier online shopping platform, will be the resort’s e-commerce sponsor, and conduct co-marketing efforts with UBR.
Through cooperation with Alibaba’s digital marketing platform Alimama and Alibaba’s online video hub Youku, guests can enjoy programming about the resort and access Universal movies in the Universal Brand Zone.
Alibaba and UBR said that they are also exploring the options of using Alipay mini-apps to optimise guests’ overall experience. It will aim to improve trip planning, parking and other pain points usually faced by theme park visitors.
The resort will leverage Alibaba’s technology and consumer insights to enhance the guest experience with customised services and elevated park operations, said the companies. Alibaba Cloud will support the digitisation and technology infrastructure of the theme park.
The UBR-Alibaba partnership also extends to Ant Forest, where low-carbon lifestyles will be promoted and users can help contribute to planting real trees in Tongzhou through low-carbon actions that convert into “green energy”. Ticketless entry and digital payment provide guests with convenience, while reducing carbon footprint.
Genting Cruise Lines has presented Global Dream’s brand-new hull artwork with an unveiling ceremony at ITB Asia 2019 in Singapore.
Senior minister of state for trade and industry and education Chee Hong Tat (second from right) graced the unveiling ceremony as guest of honour, joining Singapore Tourism Board’s Keith Tan (leftmost) and Genting Cruise Lines’ representatives in the Wednesday event to unveil the illustration for Global Dream.
Genting Cruise Lines’ president Kent Zhu said: “As arguably the most identifiable feature of a cruise ship, the hull artwork is another important milestone in the development of any cruise ship and will set the personality of the ship when she launches. The new hull artwork provides a fresh take on our beloved mermaid and astronaut characters and captures the adventurous spirit and sense of modernity that will be the hallmarks of Global Dream’s essence.”
Created by Shanghai native and London-based illustrator, Shan Jiang, the latest chapter of the Dream Cruises hull art romance titled “A Dream Through Time and Space” continues the journey of the mermaid and the astronaut as they seek to satisfy their boundless curiosity and explore an infinite universe. Embodying the independent and fearless spirit of a new generation of traveller, the two worlds of the mermaid and astronaut blend together, resulting in a new way to explore the seven seas– one that combines age-old maritime tradition with space-age technology.
Guests who attended ITB Asia also had the chance to experience Global Dream through a specially constructed, full-scale smart show cabin on display during the event.
Set to enter into service in early 2021, the 208,000 gross tonne ship, Global Dream, is currently under construction at Genting Hong Kong’s own MV Werften shipyard in Germany.
A rising tide of group travel for retirees, eco-conscious movement and thirst for customisation are some of the key traveller trends that Sabre has identified in its Asia-Pacific survey for 2020.
Here are the five key trends as revealed by the survey, which polled over 500 leisure travel consultants from over 24 countries across Asia-Pacific:
Forever young
Travel professionals reveal that travellers aged between 35 to 50 make up close to 60 per cent of their customer base, proving that despite the rise of online platforms meant to facilitate personal bookings, there’s nothing like having a professional to help enhance the booking experience. What’s more, three in five respondents indicate that personalised requests are the main reason why customers reach out, allowing them to create unique packages that cater to each traveller’s needs.
Silver is golden
In Asia’s rapidly aging economies, more than 40 per cent of consumers served by travel agents are over the age of 50, and over one third of those surveyed identified that retirees are among their most popular customers, just after families and couples.
In fact, four in 10 agents confirm that travel for groups of retired people is on the rise, with packaged tours listed as the main reason why people over 50 reach out to travel agents. Some 46 per cent of those included folks in the 50 to 69 branch; and close to 60 per cent of the 70 and over age group request packaged tours that include flights, hotel and transportation bookings, with wellness or religious activities often being the main reason for their bookings.
Green giant
Sabre’s traveller trend survey found that over 60 per cent of travel consultants identified a growing concern for the environment among travellers. The survey also reveals that an impressive 70 per cent of travellers are asking for sustainable tourism options, and close to 30 per cent are requesting for alternate modes of transportation. However, the survey also reveals that only two per cent of leisure travellers across Asia-Pacific ask to purchase carbon credits.
The gender gap
With solo travel growing year on year, the Sabre traveller trends survey discloses that in Asia, men account for 10 per cent more of the solo travel bookings than women. When it comes to bookings, women tend to prefer travelling in groups. However, when it’s time for a couples’ getaway, the survey reveals that both parties do their part, with nearly 40 per cent of both men and women reaching out to their travel consultant to assist with the booking.
Me, myself and I
As consumers across the board expect customisation to be part of their retail experience, a significant 60 per cent of respondents indicate that personalisation is the main reason why they are called upon to book travel. Travel consultants are sought to fulfil the growing demands of those aged 34 and below to book their next sport and adventure travel, which account for approximately 50 per cent of group bookings, or simply to identify better prices for their customers.
Following the launch of a trio of properties in Goa earlier this year, The Postcard Hotel will soon bring the India-based boutique luxury hotel brand into Sri Lanka and Bhutan this November.
The Postcard Dewa hotel in Bhutan will feature 15 suites, while The Postcard Galle in Sri Lanka will offer 10 intimate suites.
With over Rp10 million (US$140,000) of assets under management today and projects underway across South Asia, the luxury group aims to own or manage over US$1 billion of assets in five years.
Founded by the former president of The Oberoi Group, Kapil Chopra, The Postcard Hotel plans to open 50 hotels in five years in experiential destinations across the world. The investment will be made through an intelligent mix of buying off the asset, taking a long term lease on the asset or managing it as a management company.
