BEST Western International is developing a hotel in the heart of Cebu City that will begin welcoming guests in 2015, in partnership with the Gothong family.

Tentatively named Best Western Times Square, it is the second property for the Gothong family, which branched out from shipping to hospitality with the soft opening of the 58-key Best Western Sand Bar Resort in Cordova in Mactan, Cebu early this year.

According to Chris Gothong, general manager of the Best Western Sand Bar Resort, the hotel will be located near the city’s Osmena Boulevard and will have 200 rooms, although plans are still being finalised.

Gothong will also helm the new hotel. It marks the third Best Western branded hotel in Cebu after the Best Western Sand Bar Resort and Best Western Plus Lex Cebu.

Emphasising Cebu’s rosy prospects for business and leisure tourism, Gothong also disclosed that Best Western Sand Bar Resort is moving up its expansion plans. Although expansion was originally scheduled to start two years after opening, work will begin in 18 months instead for an additional 160 to 200 rooms, two more swimming pools and other facilities.

Gothong said the resort has performed “beyond expectations” within a short period of several months, even though it has no grand opening yet.

The hotel’s spa, gym, eight family rooms and MICE facilities are still under construction.

INDONESIA’S Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy is organising a series of cultural events in November and December to stimulate its creative industries and boost arrivals to the country.

Mari Elka Pangestu, minister of tourism and creative economy, said: “With these events, we expect the products of Indonesia’s creative industry to become known internationally and (in turn) attract travellers and businesses to the country.”

The sixth Indonesia Performing Arts Market, running from November 13 to 16, will gather Indonesia’s best contemporary and traditional music, dance and theatre acts in Jakarta to perform in front of festival managers from Indonesia and overseas.

The ministry is also working together with 17 other government agencies and National Handicrafts Board to hold Indonesia Creative Products Week, from November 21 to December 1 in Jakarta.

Events will be concluded with Indonesia Film Festival, which is scheduled to take place in Semarang, Central Java on December 7.

The festivities are expected to contribute to Indonesia’s target of 8.6 million arrivals for 2014. Visitor arrivals to Indonesia between January to September have hit 6.4 million, an 8.8 per cent increase over the same period last year, which saw 5.9 million travellers.

Mari was confident that growth would continue for the rest of 2013. “We expect to be able to maintain the 8.8 per cent growth rate for the fourth quarter of the year, with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit last month and its thousands of delegates, and the year-end holiday season coming up,” she said.

Apart from the APEC summit, Indonesia hosted the Miss World pageant in September. Bali has also been appointed the venue of the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in December, with some 7,000 expected to attend.

SHANGHAI-BASED Juneyao Airlines is looking south to the low-cost market in the Pearl River Delta, having applied for permission to set up an LCC in Guangzhou.

The South China Morning Post reported that Juneyao will name its subsidiary Jiuyuan Airlines, or ‘nine-yuan’, possibly indicative of the LCC’s future pricing plan.

Edwin Choi, assistant to the chairman of Juneyao Airlines, was quoted as saying the new LCC would begin with domestic flights before subsequently expanding to regional destinations in Asia.

When approved for take-off, Juneyao’s LCC is likely to come into direct competition with Jetstar Hong Kong, which is still waiting for its operating licence and keen to tap the burgeoning South China market.

MINOR Hotel Group (MHG) has announced the rebranding of The Chedi Chiang Mai as an Anantara, but legal actions initiated by the current management company, General Hotel Management (GHM), against the owning company and MHG, cast a shadow over the management takeover.

GHM president and CEO, Hans Jenni, did not respond to TTG Asia e-Daily’s request for comment but in what clearly is an unhappy parting, a note on GHM website about the termination said: “An attempt was made on the 4^th November 2013 by the owning company of the The Chedi Chiang Mai to terminate GHM’s management of the hotel and bring in a new operator to manage the property.

“Regrettably, the manner in which it was carried out was wrongful and violated key conditions and criteria from the existing management agreement. Given this unfortunate development, GHM has had no choice but to initiate legal actions against both the owning company as well as the new management company to address the many areas of violations and with it, to seek reinstatement of management and obtain full compensation.”

It added: “GHM will also make every effort to ensure that its loyal guest and customers will not be inconvenienced with the intrusion and will ensure that the renowned GHM experience (one that has made The Chedi Chiang Mai one of the most recognised luxury names in Chiang Mai since 2006) remains unmarred.”

MHG is proceeding to rebrand the 84-room hotel as Anantara Chiang Mai Resort & Spa, saying it marked the 100^th hotel in the MHG portfolio.

In a press release issued today, Dillip Rajakarier, CEO, MHG, said: “The fact that our 100^th property is such a significant addition to the portfolio, both with it being such a stunning resort and the strategic addition of a Chiang Mai property to our Thailand collection of Anantara properties, makes it even more special. Chiang Mai is a key destination in Thailand and one we have been looking at for development opportunities for a long time, adding the perfect dot on the map as our eleventh property in Thailand.”

Contacted, Minor Corporation’s CEO and chairman, Bill Heinecke, said: “No comment.”

William Marshall

WILLIAM “Willie” Marshall, general manager, planning & support of the Outrigger Asia-Pacific Corporate Office, died in his sleep at his home in Phuket on November 3.

He passed in his sleep at his home in Phuket on November 3, and the specific cause of death is yet unknown.

Marshall joined Outrigger in 2012 and brought over 37 years’ experience and extensive industry knowledge to his role, having spent his career holding many different positions all around the world including the UK, France, China, the Bahamas and Japan.

Darren Edmonstone, managing director, Asia-Pacific for Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, said in a press release: “Many will remember Willie for his unwavering passion, professionalism and commitment. Willie was liked by all who ever had the good fortune to meet with him.

“We will miss Willie very much. He was an important member of the Outrigger APAC management team and a good friend to us all. He will be long-remembered in the hospitality industry and it was an honour to be colleagues at Outrigger with Willie.

“We will remember him always with respect, fondness and warmest aloha.”

Marshall is survived by his wife and two children.

CVBs and meetings suppliers must step up to help PCOs and clients comply with the laws regarding international healthcare meetings and education seminars, which are changing the way such events are executed, said sector specialists leading an education session at the 52^nd ICCA Congress.

Lisa Sullivan, managing director of In Vivo Communications which is involved in pharmaceutical and medical events held in various destinations, noted that some laws require doctors to pay their own attendance fee, prohibit the use of luxury hotels and cap the price of hosted meals for delegates.

“Many countries have their own laws and regulations, so PCOs handling events with delegates from multiple nations must be aware of all the various laws,” Sullivan said, who added that the minimum requirement of the law could be applied to all delegates for the sake of easier logistics control.

“So if the strictest of laws says the cost of a delegate meal cannot exceed RMB300 (US$50), we will apply that to delegates of all nationalities,” she explained.

Event content must also improve significantly to convince doctors to pay for attendance, opined Annalisa Ponchia Baccara, executive officer, European Society for Organ Transplantation, Italy.

Martin N Jensen, co-president, International Pharmaceutical Congress Advisory Association, Switzerland, said some laws also dictate when a delegate should arrive or depart a meeting destination for expense claims to be valid.

“If there are no flights out of the destination within the specified time after the event concludes, the delegate may just choose to cut short his participation and fly home (on the earliest available flight),” Jensen said.

Sullivan added that “the additional systems that must be in place” would cost more money and manpower to implement, and PCOs must now find a way to cover these expenses.

CVBs and meetings suppliers can help PCOs and clients comply with laws by identifying venues that offer prices that comply with regulations, suggested Sheriff Karamat, COO, Professional Convention Management Association.

“Most importantly, CVBs and PCOs in Asia must understand the implications of these laws and regulations on future bids and events and adapt to them. Currently, not enough of them do,” warned Sullivan.

*Our article previously named Lisa Sullivan as managing director of INVIVO Communications. This was inaccurate and has been rectified. 

CARLSON Rezidor Hotel Group has partnered mega developer SM Hotels and Conventions to affix its mid-market brand Park Inn by Radisson to at least 10 more hotels in the Philippines.

Lyle Lewis, vice president – Philippines and Japan of Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and general manager of Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu, said: “SM is identifying five new sites and pursuing five additional locations for Park Inn by Radisson, highlighting the strong mutual intent to grow the presence of the brand over the next five to eight years.”

Locations under consideration include Iloilo, Bacolod and North EDSA in Manila. Lewis added that the brand’s colourful and innovative design is a good fit for all primary, secondary and tertiary cities in the Philippines.

The two companies will also launch the 150-room Park Inn by Radisson Clark in Pampanga, which opens in 2016 beside SM Mall of Asia and SMX Convention Center.

Elizabeth T Sy, president of SM Hotels and Conventions, commented: “Park Inn by Radisson is a hotel brand that appeals to the domestic market of 35 million travellers, which is also our target clientele for SM Mall.”

She explained that the management agreement for Park Inn by Radisson Clark reflected the company’s vision of providing a mid-scale hotel brand alongside its SM mall and convention centre.

THE Travel Corporation, which owns brands such as Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Contiki and Uniworld, reports that its commission payments to travel agencies are up 30 per cent over last year, leading its president and CEO, Brett Tollman, to dismiss any notion that the days of the wholesale-retail model are numbered.

“I was at WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council) summit in Abu Dhabi and some (consultant) from Boston Consulting Group stood up and declared that travel agencies are dead; the wholesaler is dead.

“Well, we’re having our best year ever and business with our travel agencies is up. Our travel agency commission payments this year are up 30 per cent over last year – highest than any year in our history,” he said.

CEO of Trafalgar, Gavin Tollman, said business from travel agencies in Singapore rose 71 per cent this year over 2012, a record-breaking growth rate in the history of the company and far surpassing the overall worldwide increase of 28 per cent for the brand.

“I believe in the agency distribution model, with a caveat. I believe agencies that do their job – qualify their customers, add value to the cycle, follow up, who are consultants and not order-takers – not only have a future, but can prosper unbelievably in the travel industry,” he said.

Asked why so many agencies in Asia are struggling to survive, Tollman said: “As in any industry, you have good and bad businesses. Some agencies focus only on selling, for example, cheap cruises. The average Uniworld commission is US$1,800 per booking, because 95 per cent are couples travelling together and we don’t do massive discounting. If more consultants sold our products, they would not have cash-flow problems.

“If you sell a package where you earn US$10 on air, US$30 on room, etc, you cannot make money. And to prosper, it’s not just about selling our type of product, you need to be knowledgeable, responsive…my father always said, there is no bad business, only bad managers.”

– Read the full report in News Analysis in TTG Asia November 15 issue

ANTI-GOVERNMENT protests in Bangkok are unlikely to have a significant effect on Thailand’s tourism industry, according to travel specialists, however the risk of disruption will increase if the demonstrators dig in for the long haul.

Police said some 10,000 demonstrators gathered at Democracy Monument yesterday to protest against a bill passed by the lower House last week. The bill is up for approval by the senate next week, though many commentators think this unlikely.

Outbound operators and wholesalers are fielding an increasing number of calls from customers who are worried that the domestic political situation will affect their travel plans, but cancellations remain relatively low, Suthipong Pheunphiphop, president of Thai Travel Agents Association, told TTG Asia e-Daily.

“About half of the outbound operators and consultants we have spoken to are being asked to reconfirm whether they can still operate their tours,” he said. “Most of them insist they can. Cancellations are currently less than five per cent.”

Inbound tourism should also remain unaffected as most international visitors will have booked their trips months ago and the political problems should dissipate within the next couple of weeks to a month, he said.

“Most inbound travel consultants don’t expect a big effect from the rallies. Thailand often has protests (which don’t have much effect on other people). Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Association of Thai Travel Agents are working closely together to keep everybody informed of what’s going on. Hopefully this will be over in a week or so if the senate rejects the bill. Otherwise the demonstrations could last for a month.”

TAT in a statement yesterday advised tourists to avoid rally sites but said businesses, attractions and airports remained open, and said demonstrations have not spread to other parts of the country.

SPANISH hotel chain Riu Hotels & Resorts is diving into Asian waters with its first management agreement for a five-star hotel in Sri Lanka.

The tie-up with Aitken Spence Hotels will see Aitken Spence invest US$100 million in the 500-room, Riu-branded hotel, according to sources.

Construction on the first Riu hotel project in the Asia-Pacific region will begin in June 2014 and wrap up by winter 2015.

Aitken Spence’s managing director, Malin Hapugoda, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the project is coming up on an 11-hectare site at Ahungalla in southern Sri Lanka, where Aitken Spence had earlier planned to build a Six Senses hotel (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 15, 2013).

The project was eventually called off this year due to funding problems on the part of The Soneva Group (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 17, 2011).

Hapugoda, speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily in a telephone interview from London where he is attending the World Travel Mart, said Riu is also collaborating with Germany-based TUI Travel group to operate charter flights.

Flights will be serviced with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carrying between 200 and 300 passengers at a time, and expected to land at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport at Mattala in Hambantota district, which opened earlier this year.

Founded in 1953 in Mallorca, Spain, the family-owned Riu Hotels & Resorts has over 100 hotels in 16 countries across North America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa. The company has since begun rolling out a new brand of city hotels called Riu Plaza in 2010.