Dorsett Hospitality International has entered into an agreement to sell Silka West Kowloon in Hong Kong to China-based Golden Wheel Jasper at HK$450 million (US$58 million), through disposing its equity interest in and shareholder’s loan to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Double Advance Group (DAGL).

Upon completion, Far East Consortium International (FEC), which wholly owns Dorsett, is expected to record a gain of approximately HK$316 million, and Dorsett will enter into an agreement with DAGL to offer services in the management and operation of the hotel under the Silka brand.

The net proceeds from the sale will be retained as capital for Far East’s business development and general corporate purposes.

Chris Hoong, managing director of FEC, said: “The sale is another example of our track record in successful monetisation of hotel assets, and is consistent with our strategy of disposing smaller and non-core hotel properties. It enables us to release hidden value in our hotel portfolio accumulated over the years.

“With an increasingly diversified development portfolio, the group enjoys a high degree of flexibility in deploying capital across various business divisions, allowing us to generate higher return on capital employed in the long run.”

As at September 30, 2016, FEC operated 20 owned hotels in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia and the UK, with more than 6,000 rooms and 13 hotels in the development pipeline. When all the hotels in the pipeline become operational by the year ending March 31, 2022, the group will have 33 owned hotels operating more than 9,300 rooms.

Visitor arrivals into Asia-Pacific destinations are estimated to grow at an average rate of five per cent per annum from 2017 to 2021, reaching a combined footfall of close to 758 million, according to PATA’s latest Asia-Pacific Visitor Forecasts.

By 2021, Asia is expected to generate over half a billion of foreign arrivals into Asia-Pacific, accounting for over two-thirds of the total, due to its consistently high average annual growth rate between 2016 and 2021.

The Americas and Europe will also contribute significant arrivals, the former numbering a little under 117 million by 2021 and Europe totalling over 76 million.

Intra-regional flows within North-east and South-east Asia, as well as the bi-directional flows across these two sub-regions, will continue to dominate the growth pattern in 2021 with the North-east Asia-to-North-east Asia flows alone numbering in excess of 300 million in 2021.

The study also projects South-east and North-east Asia to see significant arrivals from Europe, especially from West and East Europe.

Mario Hardy, PATA CEO, said in a media statement: “The importance of the Asia-Pacific region, both as a receiver and a generator of international arrivals, has been evident for some time and the momentum certainly appears to be holding over the next five years. With the maturing of many Asian source markets, destinations beyond the Asia-Pacific region are also being increasingly explored. However, these destinations need to be ready to deliver a service that the increasingly sophisticated Asian traveller has already experienced in Asia and is now seeking in destinations further afield”.

Sabre Corporation has expanded its agreement to make The Hertz Corporation’s full inventory of car rental rates, including those available via Hertz.com and its mobile app, available to more than 425,000 travel agents, as well as hundreds of corporations and OTA websites powered by Sabre’s APIs.

With the renewed agreement, The Hertz Corporation is now positioned to market and offer its global car rental inventory through the Sabre travel marketplace, including prepay options previously available only on Hertz.com. The collaboration will benefit Sabre-connected travel agents with a global network of car rental pickup locations, and additional payment options to shop and book a vehicle.

“Sabre and Hertz have reached a landmark agreement that will maximise retailing opportunities through a mix of digital channels,” said Traci Mercer, senior vice president of hotel, car, cruise and rail in Sabre Travel Network.

Business travellers and online shoppers will also see immediate benefits, as corporate booking tools and OTA websites using Sabre technology will now display the full range of Hertz car rental inventory worldwide along with all available pricing options. Prior to this agreement, the only way to shop all available vehicles and prices would be to monitor multiple channels at once.

The Hertz Corporation chose Sabre as its first GDS provider to distribute its worldwide rental vehicle inventory including Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly brands.

As Cambodia welcomes a swathe of luxury hotel brands to Phnom Penh, the trade is divided on whether the properties will help contribute to the economy or be forced to shutter due to low demand.

Hotels set to come online this year include the 175-room five-star Rosewood Phnom Penh in June, and the 1,000-key Naga2. Meanwhile, Hyatt Regency, Shangri-La and Okura Prestige are slated to enter the market by 2020.

However, with occupancy rates in many of the capital’s current limited luxury hotel offerings below 50 per cent on average, trade players fear that many of these properties might have to shutter due to a fiercely competitive landscape.

San Sambath, who owns three boutique hotels in Phnom Penh, has seen an 18 per cent decrease in occupancy in the last three years, and predicts this will worsen as new hotels are unable to fill its rooms and are forced to drop prices.

He lamented: “There are already too many empty rooms in Phnom Penh and times are really tough. I don’t think Cambodia is quite ready yet for all these luxury rooms. There just isn’t the demand.”

However, owner of a series of hotels and restaurants, Luu Meng, said the country should welcome more high-class offerings, as they help to raise the hospitality industry’s standards and attract “high-class tourists” who spend more money.

As well, tour operators are also hoping to benefit from the entry of upscale brands. Vangdong Tam, owner of Trails of the Mekong, said: “They will help promote Cambodia in a good light across the world and bring more high-end travellers with them.”

Travel agents and tourism officials in several Japanese regions have stepped up sales and marketing efforts in Europe, believing that travellers from longhaul markets will increase the destination’s tourism receipts and average length of stay.

“Westerners tend to take longer holidays, spend more money on vacation and stay at higher-priced hotels,” said Cameron Stadin, representative of Global Sales Explorer (GSE), based in Kagoshima Prefecture.

As a result, the inbound tour agency will launch seat-in-coach tours in 2017.

“The European FIT market is growing and our (tours) will suit them. They want independence but many places in Kyushu are difficult to access by public transport so this bus tour is (a convenient option),” he said.

A pilot is planned for April and GSE will first promote the tours to European expat residents across Japan this summer.

Stadin is banking on these customers’ social media posts to stimulate interest among Europeans outside of Japan.

Meanwhile, other attractions are focusing on marketing directly in Europe.

Alex Bradshaw, spokesperson for Sengan-en in Kagoshima city, shared that the historic garden had started pursuing the European market since last April. Sengan-en’s aim is to promote not only the attraction, but also Kagoshima as a destination, firstly to the FIT market and then to outbound agents.

“There is little knowledge of Kagoshima (in Europe),” he said. “By promoting Kagoshima’s heritage, we want to attract higher-spending Europeans who are interested in culture.”

In particular, Bradshaw is targeting the UK and France, where he visited in late February to promote the prefecture’s renowned kiriko glass.

Chisayo Watari, spokesperson of Hotel Shiroyama Kagoshima, shared that the luxury hotel will begin promotions in Europe after garnering a positive reception at ILTM Cannes 2016.

Kagoshima Visitors Bureau, meanwhile, has started to use the prefecture’s historical connection to the UK, which dates back to the 19th century, as a marketing tool to attract British travellers, revealed spokesperson Tomoko Takae.

Similarly, the prefectures of Tottori and Nagano are planning to win over European visitors by first courting Tokyo’s European residents.

Tottori is marketing itself through banners depicting the prefecture’s scenery and tasting sessions of locally distilled sake at international events, while Nagano officials are working with agents to develop short, high-end tours. Market research is still underway but these programmes may focus on wellness, drawing on the area’s hot springs, lush forests and waterfalls.

Malindo Air will launch daily services – utilising a Boeing B737-800 – from Kuala Lumpur to Brisbane via Denpasar on March 31. It will be the only Malaysian carrier plying this route.

An inbound agent, Nigel Wong, director, Urban Rhythms Tour Adventures & Travel, said: “This flight will help the tourism industry as Australia is a key market for Malaysia. Australians are avid outdoor enthusiasts who love soft adventure and eco-tourism products which Malaysia has a lot of. For this leisure segment, we will promote our national parks and islands in east and west Malaysia.”

Statistics from Tourism Malaysia revealed that the per diem expenditure of Australian tourists in Malaysia averaged RM773 (US$174) in 2015 and they spent an average of 5.8 nights in the country. Last year, arrivals from Australia totalled 377,727 tourists, a decline of 22.4 per cent over 2015.

An outbound agent, Desmond Lee, group managing director of Apple Vacations & Conventions, said: “Brisbane is not really a tourist attraction for Malaysians. They prefer holidaying in Gold Coast, which is about a 1.5-hour drive away.”

Lee added that as AirAsia currently flies daily from Kuala Lumpur to Gold Coast, he “may consider using” Malindo’s flights if the airfares are “very attractive”, which can translate into savings for customers. From Brisbane, the travellers can then transfer to Gold Coast by land.

Dusit Fudu Hotels and Resorts has inked a management consultancy agreement with Nanjing Shangqinhuai Construction Development to manage the Dusit Thani Wetland Park Resort Nanjing, a luxury international resort in the capital of Jiangsu Province.

Scheduled to open late this year, the resort is located within Nanjing Shangqinhuai Eco Wetland Park, a 20-minute drive from Nanjing International Airport.

Dusit Thani Wetland Park Resort Nanjing will offer a selection of 110 villas and rooms, a 300m2 meeting room, a Thai-inspired spa, an all-day dining restaurant, a rooftop garden restaurant and a kids’ club.

“We are delighted to introduce the Dusit Thani brand and our distinctive Thai-inspired hospitality to this historic and vibrant city,” said Lim Boon Kwee, COO of Dusit International.

“Dusit Thani Wetland Park Resort Nanjing, Jiangsu, signifies an important milestone in Dusit’s long-term expansion plans, positioning us perfectly for further expansion within China and the region.”

Garuda Indonesia will be increasing seasonal flight frequencies on Jakarta-Australia routes from four to five weekly, and Bali-Australia routes from six to seven weekly, from May until October 2017.

Destinations in Australia include Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

At a joint press conference with Tourism Australia in Jakarta yesterday, Arif Wibowo, CEO of Garuda Indonesia said: “(Through our flights) we are inviting more Australians to be part of Indonesia’s target to achieve 20 million tourists by (2019), and encouraging more Indonesians to travel to Australia.”

With an average load factor of 75 per cent, Garuda carried 644,000 passengers on Australian services last year, 17 per cent higher than in 2015. With the additional flights, it is expecting to carry 650,000 passengers this year.

Australia’s minister for trade, tourism and investment, Steven Ciobo, who is currently in Indonesia leading a high-level delegation for the Indonesia Australia Business Week (March 6-10, 2017), said: “Indonesia is one of Australia’s fastest-growing markets (in terms of) international visitors, and is Australia’s 12th largest market for international visitor arrivals.

“Indonesia has the potential to be worth over A$1 billion (US$760 million) in overnight visitation by 2020, and we hope that Garuda’s announcement will help us achieve that.”

Last year, arrivals from Indonesia totalled 174,400, an increase of 13.8 per cent, year-on-year. In December 2016 alone, the total arrivals from Indonesia was 26,600, a year-on-year increase of 43.8 per cent. For the year ending September 2016, Indonesians spent A$0.7 billion in Australia, an increase of 19 per cent year on year.

As part of its efforts to boost business from Indonesia and its partnerships with the airline and the industry, Tourism Australia has also formed bank partnerships in Indonesia over the last few years.

Brent Anderson, Tourism Australia’s manager – Singapore and Indonesia, said: “(Working with the banks) is unique to Indonesia. We have a direct partnership with BCA Bank which gives us the middle-class and upper middle class, and Bank Danamon as the publisher of American Express cards in Indonesia for the luxury market.”

With all this in place, Ciobo indicated that he expects the growth rate of arrivals from Indonesia would be 20 to 25 per cent in the years to come.