AS speculated in our Overheard dispatch on Hyatt Hotels Corporation adding two hotels in Japan (TTG Asia eDaily, November 1, 2015), the chain has officially confirmed one of them – a management contract with Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD) for a Park Hyatt in the ski resort destination of Niseko.

This brings the number of hotels Hyatt operates in Japan to 11, and the second Park Hyatt after the one in Tokyo.

Expected to open in 2019, the 100-room Park Hyatt Niseko, Hanazono will also offer 100 branded residences, the first Park Hyatt residences in Japan, which participating owners can rent out as guest accommodation.

Robert Lee, PCPD’s deputy chairman and CEO, alludes to developing the area “into a world-class resort destination”, saying there is strong interest among tourists and investors in Japan.

PCPD is majority-owned by PCCW Hong Kong.

Park Hyatt Niseko, Hanazono and its residences will be a pivotal part of PCPD’s resort and residential development in Niseko, added David Udell, group president, Asia-Pacific, Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

The entire development, which will be undertaken in phases, has a site area of area 789,000m2 and a developable gross floor area of approximately 620,000m2.

Situated in Hanazono, one of the four ski areas of Niseko, guests will be within walking distance to ski trails in nearby Mount Annupuri with convenient ski-in and ski-out access.

MALDIVES’ Attorney general Mohamed Anil announced yesterday the lifting of the 30-day state of emergency, just six days after it was imposed, following concerns from the international community and the tourism industry.

Anil added that the government wanted to minimise the adverse effects it might have on the Maldivian economy and its vital tourism industry.

“They (tourists) are specifically concerned about the words ‘state of emergency’ and what it means to (their) security,” an official at the Maldivian Association of Yacht Agents (MAYA) said, adding that “tourists are safe”.

Earlier, newspapers and social media reported that travellers who were planning to visit had raised concerns. Several neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka also expressed concern and urged the authorities to lift the state of emergency.

Last Wednesday, president Abdulla Yameen granted the police sweeping powers to arrest suspects and carry out raids without court sanction, following the arrest of vice president Ahmed Adheed on October 24. Adheed was accused of plotting against the president.

Nearly 75 per cent of the country’s revenue comes from tourism, via the 100-plus top end resorts, and cheaper guesthouses and a string of hotels in the capital.

The crisis seems to have affected guesthouses more, just as demand for mid- and lower-end rooms have risen. Official data showed that resort occupancy dropped by 3.5 per cent in September while guesthouse occupancy increased by 7.2 per cent.

A few passenger cruise liners, which represent a small percentage of arrivals, also cancelled stops to the country last week.

THE new CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) has drawn up a five-year plan that will focus on five key activities to take the business forward, just as the company turns 25 this year.

The areas of focus will be on seeking hotel members in existing and new destinations that will deliver unique experiences to SLH guests; ensuring consistently high quality across the SLH collection through a more robust Quality Assurance programme, improving the SLH Club loyalty programme come September 2016; investing in technology through new smartphone apps and new and improved websites; and implementing new and updates distribution tools for member hotels.

In an interview with TTG Asia e-Daily, Filip Boyen, who has assumed leadship of the company from Paul Kerr, said a collaborative approach was taken in shaping the plans, with inputs sought from hotel members, customers and staff.

“Everyone’s point of view and expertise is valuable. Our Board of Directors consists of hotel members elected by their peers and they are empowered to make decisions that represent the best interests of the business from the hotels’ standpoint. By the time we launch any new initiative we are confident that it is a positive way forward (for) all stakeholders – and the reaction we received at our International Conference in Marbella in October to this new direction was unanimously positive,” said Boyen.

To mark SLH’s 25th anniversary, the company had earlier this year launched a refreshed brand and new strapline, ‘Independently minded’.

“The very existence of SLH is to match independently-minded people with independently-spirited hotels,” said Boyen, who added that while the independently minded mindset “is nothing new as we have long been the champions of small and independent”, it allows SLH to better “communicate to our guests and potential customers exactly what sets SLH apart from the rest”.

To support the independently minded mindset, several new initiatives targeted at guests, member hotels and travel partners will be introduced throughout 2016.

This month also saw the debut of SLH’s first travel agent recognition programme, Small Luxury Heros, which sought to reward top-producing agents with Amazon gift cards, SLH Gift Certificates and complimentary reward nights.

ONYX Hospitality Group expects revenue to be 15 per cent ahead of 2014 by year end despite several challenges during the year. The Thai hotel chain also expects to meet its target of tripling gross operating profit by 2018 on the back of a 36 per cent rise in GOP in the first three quarters of 2015, compared with the same period last year.

Continuing the turnaround which began at the end of last year, total room revenue for Thailand-based properties increased 21.4 per cent from January-September, while total room revenue for overseas properties increased 19.4 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The last 12 months saw Amari Phuket celebrating its 30th anniversary with the completion of a full renovation and the opening of a new Ocean Wing with 183 suites. OZO welcomed its fifth property with the opening of OZO Kandy in Sri Lanka in May, while July saw the launch of a new Amari website with virtual tours and videos.

Peter Henley, CEO of the group, said: “As well as key developments with our Amari hotel brand, we are thrilled by the progression of OZO.”

Amari developments include the opening of Amari Havodda Maldives on January 15, 2016. Located in the southern Gaafu Dhaalu atoll, it will have 120 villas, including 48 Beach Villas, 12 Beach Pool Villas, 58 Overwater Villas and two Overwater Pool Villas.

This will be followed by the reopening of Amari Koh Samui on April 1, 2016, following an extensive renovation. It will feature 197 modern Thai rooms across three wings.

A 242-room Amari Johor Bahru will also start to welcome guests at the end of 2016. Amari Galle Sri Lanka with 172 rooms and suites, all with direct ocean views, will open in early 2017.

OZO developments include the opening of the 364-room beachfront resort, OZO Hoi An, and a 135-room OZO Penang in early 2017, and a 198-room OZO Medini, Johor, opening in 2018 in the multipurpose UMCity Medini Lakeside Complex. ONYX service apartment brand will also be built there, offering 232 serviced apartments, opening 2018. OZO Shishi Xiamen is also slated to open in 2018.

Shama is also opening in Guangzhou in 2016, in Shanghai and Xiamen in 2017, and in Beijing, Chengdu and Dali in 2018, according to the group.

DESPITE the global economic slowdown, Taiwan’s outbound traffic remains resilient with figures crossing the nine-million mark for the first nine months, up some 900,000 over the same period last year.

Improved air connectivity is believed to have fuelled growth. China Airlines inaugurated Kaohsiung-Changzhou services on September 16 and Taipei-Melbourne on October 25; Tigerair Taiwan added Taipei-Tokyo, Kaohsiung-Osaka and Taipei-Okinawa services to its network; Thailand-based NokScoot entered the Taiwan airspace as the latest low-cost carrier to offer a Bangkok-Taipei link in October.

The industry expects outbound performance to remain strong in 2016, given three long holidays and around seven holidays lasting more than three days.

Lion Travel is leveraging these long holidays such as the Ching Ming and Dragon Boat festivals – each lasting four days – to push for longer vacations.

Longhaul destinations have recognised the business opportunities presented by the lengthy holidays for the Taiwanese next year, and have stepped up their promotions at the ongoing Taipei International Travel Fair.

The US pavilion boasted the largest presence at the show with 36 booths. Destination D.C. is a first-time exhibitor and international sales manager, Louis Lu, hopes to draw FITs and family visitors from Taiwan.

The Czech Republic has made a comeback to the show and wishes to increase its visibility in the Taiwanese market. Director Jan Urban, said: “FIT has been on the rise due to visa relaxation as well as the availability of many new and affordable flights to Europe. A direct flight between the capital of Taiwan and the Czech Republic would be very helpful.”

Following Turkey’s implementation of e-visa for Taiwanese travellers in 2013, more air seats can be expected as Turkish Airlines gets ready to increase its seven-weekly flights to 10 in mid-2016 while Eva Air inaugurates four-weekly services to Istanbul in March 2016.

VISIT Canberra, which has focused its tourism efforts on the domestic market in the last decade, is now reaching out to court Malaysian travellers for the first time, with its first trade mission to capital city Kuala Lumpur last week.

The tourism board, along with several local players including East Hotel, Balloon Aloft Canberra, Pialligo Estate and Canberra Airport, made the fact finding mission to learn more about the Malaysian market and to network with outbound travel agents in Malaysia.

Visit Canberra’s director, Ian Hill, described Malaysia as a “significant market which has a lot of repeat visitors to Australia” and has plans for more regular sales trips to Malaysia and to organise familiarisation trips for Malaysian travel consultants and the media to Canberra.

However, with the absence of direct international flights, Hill said he hopes to “promote Canberra as a stopover destination with the main entry points being Sydney and Melbourne”.

Sedunia Travel in Malaysia currently sells Canberra as a day tour and as part of a Sydney programme.

The agency’s sales manager, e-commerce division, Terry Teo, told TTG Asia e-Daily that “with support from Visit Canberra, it is possible to develop more than one-day itineraries to Canberra”.

Tourism Australia’s statistics revealed Malaysia to be the second largest arrival market to Australia after Singapore. For the first eight months of 2015, Malaysian arrivals totalled 207,000 as compared to 203,000 for the corresponding period in 2014.

TAIWAN has relaxed visa regulations and waived visa fees for high-end tour groups hailing from its five new source markets, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and India, in hopes of enouraging arrival growth.

To qualify for the new visa policy which will be in place from November 1 this year until December 31, 2016, the group tours must be organised by designated travel agencies in the respective countries.

Taiwan Tourism Bureau, International Affairs Division Section Chief, Kathy Yuan, explained that with the simplified procedure, travellers from the five markets will no longer need to provide proof of occupation and supporting financial documents.

Travel agents TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to at the annual Taipei International Travel Fair, which ends today, said they welcome the move.

Taipei-based South East Travel Service, retail services, supervisor, Jimmy Chang, said this will bring both time and monetary savings for Indonesians who had to pay about NT$1,000 (US$30.60) for a visa-on-arrival.

Turmerica India, which sends MICE and FIT traffic to Taiwan, is now encouraged to market the destination for family groups especially those that have already visited China and South-east Asia and are looking for somewhere fresh.

The company’s head of international holiday, Vivek Pandey, said application for individual visas took four days to process and involved “a lot of formality like bank statements”, which competing destinations like Hong Kong and Macau did not require.

F5 Vietnam Travel, director Hoang Thi Lien, pointed out that South Korea and Japan – popular destinations among Vietnamese travellers – charged only US$20 and US$30 respectively for a travel visa while Taiwan’s was a pricier US$50.

Hoang was however quick to add that “visa fees are not a major deterrent for visitors”.

“The key (is for Taiwan to highlight) its unique specialties to provide a reason for Vietnamese to (visit).”

Meanwhile, Taiwan government statistics indicated a three per cent dip in Indonesian arrivals to 131,596 across the first nine months of 2015, while the Philippines and Thailand saw a 0.4 per cent and 12.3 per cent growth over the same period in 2014.