THE number of international standard rooms in Yangon is set to soar within the next four years as brand-name hotel groups enter the as-yet untapped Myanmar market, predicts Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Hotel Group in its recent Myanmar Hotel and Tourism Report: Spotlight on Yangon publication.

While Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels & Tourism counted 9,110 hotel rooms in the city, JLL estimated that only 1,500-2,000 were of international standard due to previous economic sanctions that kept European and American hotel operators out.

However, the situation is set to change in dramatic fashion after Myanmar’s government signed into law a new foreign investment ruling allowing foreigners to own 100 per cent of a company (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 21, 2012).

According to JLL, the number of international standard rooms is expected to quadruple by 2017 to close to 7,000.

A large proportion of future supply will come from existing hotels converting office space into guestrooms, such as in the case of Chatrium, Traders, Strand and The Park Royal hotels, and hotels reopening after years of lying dormant.

Hilton Worldwide has signed an agreement for a 300-room Hilton property (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 6, 2013); Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts will open a Shangri-La Residence in Yangon later this year and a Shangri-La hotel in 2016; Accor will debut the 366-room Novotel Yangon Max in 1Q2014 (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 22, 2013); while Best Western International has its eye on the midscale market with the rebranded 189-room Best Western Green Hill Hotel (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 22, 2013).

Noted the report: “In light of the projected influx of demand over the next two years and limited room supply of international standard in Yangon, hotels have been aggressively renegotiating contracts with travel consultants in an effort to increase rates.”

But it also cautioned: “While the growth in visitor arrivals, lack of room supply and the allure of one of Asia’s last frontier markets can lead to greater opportunities for early entrants, conducting business is still very challenging given the lack of a transparent legal framework and hence any investment carries a significant level of risk.”

CHENNAI International Airport’s new international terminal began operations in the southern state of Tamil Nadu last week.

“The opening of the new terminal will help Chennai International Airport to keep on a par with other southern Indian international airports like Hyderabad’s and Bengaluru’s. The old and new terminals are linked and within the same building, and the old terminal will continue to receive arrivals,” said C Nagendra Prasad, chairman, Indian Association of Tour Operators Tamil Nadu Chapter.

The 65,000m² new terminal cost US$330.1 million to construct and bumps up airport capacity to seven million passengers annually. The old international terminal has a throughput of three million per annum, according to the Airports Authority of India.

Now in the first phase of opening, four airlines are currently operating out of the terminal, namely IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways, and French airline Air Austral.

“There was a need for a new terminal as traffic to Chennai airport has increased over the years. At present, around 20 million residents of Tamil Nadu state have relatives staying overseas. So, the visit-friends-and-relatives segment is fuelling demand for international trips,” commented VKT Balan, chairman and managing director, Madura Travel Service.

“We now expect an increase in the number of flights from South-east Asian countries like Malaysia.”

However, trade sources said that not all had been hunky-dory. “There are a lot of issues related to operations in the new terminal. I’ve heard that (the Airports Authority of India) is planning to rope in a private player for management,” revealed Prasad.

IN A serious push to strengthen tourism infrastructure, the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat (TCGL) is encouraging new flights and will launch a cruise product to promote the state’s coastal destinations.

Taxes on aviation turbine fuel have been slashed from 28 per cent to three per cent, paving the way for private investors to start airlines running flights within the state and beyond. Meanwhile, 12 airports in Gujarat are being upgraded with night landing facilities to encourage travel to smaller cities.

Meanwhile, a Rs1.2 billion (US$19.5 million) boost from India’s Planning Commission will allow a new cruise linking Mumbai to Porbandar, a coastal city in Gujarat, to debut by this year-end.

The cruise, to offer three-day packages, was born of a collaboration between TCGL and a private operator, and is part of a bid to establish Gujarat’s 1,600km coastline as a tourist attraction.

Vipul Mittra, principal secretary – tourism, government of Gujarat, said: “We have identified 17 beaches along the coastline and our focus is to develop coastal tourism in these places and make Gujarat a coastal tourism destination. To promote cruise tourism, cruise vessels will be given berthing priority and no port fee will be collected from cruise liners for docking at Gujarat ports.”

Jaal Shah, managing director, Ahmedabad-based Travel Designer, said: “The natural treasure of the longest coastline in India deserves to be used productively and cruises will help turn many beaches into destinations, as resorts are bound to come up with an increase in demand. Perhaps we shall see terminals for ocean liners in the near future too.

“We are optimistic about growth of tourism in Gujarat, not just MICE but inbound leisure tourism too.”

AUSTRALIA-BASED hotel operator Mantra Group is gearing up for expansion in Asia-Pacific, specifically the burgeoning tourism markets of Indonesia and Thailand, as well as back home.

According to Bloomberg, Mantra intends to open 20 hotels in Indonesia within the next three years and operate another 20 in Thailand in the coming six years.

Mantra opened its first Asian property, Mantra Nusa Dua Bali, in March and is reportedly in talks to run a hotel in Jakarta. Going forward, the group will grow its presence in Indonesia through management agreements or acquiring minority stakes in hotels.

Bloomberg quoted Mantra CEO Bob East: “(Indonesia’s) got an emerging consumer class and a good growth story domestically and we have enough scope to grow.”

Mantra has also started a company in Thailand to support expansion there, where it could start business as early as 2014.

At the same time, Mantra has made clear its intentions to continue developing the Australian market. In New South Wales, the group is rebranding and refurbishing an existing hotel into the 45-room Mantra Pavilion Wagga Wagga, to be completed in late 2013.

In Western Australia, Mantra has rebranded the 54-villa Mantra Frangipani Broome and is expanding the 24-unit Mantra Geraldton by adding another 25 apartments. At Mantra Rainbow Shores on the Sunshine Coast, 10 villas have been built on site with a further 26 to come over the next year.

Mantra Townsville, a 185-room corporate hotel in North Queensland, is slated for completion in 2015.

FORMER employees of Orizonia, one of Spain’s leading integrated travel groups and Asia specialists until its collapse earlier this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 5, 2013), have set up a travel agency catering to Spanish outbound to Asia.

Called Taorana, the Madrid-based company is aiming at the medium to high-end of the market with accommodation in four- and five-star hotels, according to Antonio González, a Taorana co-founder.

“People who have this kind of purchasing power are less affected by the (European debt) crisis,” he noted.

The company has launched its new website, offering nearly 100 standard options in tours sorted by destination, activities and key dates.

“Sometimes people don’t know what to do in a destination, so we put forward a calendar with the months of the year and the destinations recommended by dates,” explained González.

Sample holidays include a nine-day stay in Baa Atoll, the Maldives, and a 13-day route exploring European influences on China over the ages. Prices start at 1,260 euros (US$1,677) for a week-long trip through India’s Golden Triangle. The company also offers tailor-made trips.

One of Spain’s top four operators to Asia at the peak of the outbound market, what was left of Orizonia’s business after the economic crash was absorbed by rival Barceló Viajes at the beginning of 2013.

But the sale excluded Orizonia’s former Asian outbound operations, which were carried out mainly under the Kirunna and Iberojet labels.

HILTON Worldwide and Lanzhou Friendship Hotel have signed an agreement to build the first international hotel brand in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China.

With completion earmarked for 1Q2017, the Hilton Lanzhou will be situated in Lanzhou’s CBD on East Xijin Road, 50km from the airport.

Francis Lee Wee-Hau, senior vice president of development, Greater China and Mongolia, Hilton Worldwide, said: “The introduction of our flagship Hilton property to Gansu province marks a chapter in our commitment to providing guests with greater access to China’s northern and western markets.

“Lanzhou is an established regional transportation hub, a growing industrial and commercial centre, and has become a vibrant tourism destination, making the city an ideal setting for our entry into the region.”

The 389-room Hilton Lanzhou offers clear views of the Yellow River and its surroundings on the hotel’s top 32 floors, three restaurants, a lobby lounge and bar, three function rooms, 16 meeting rooms, a ballroom, and a health club with a spa and indoor swimming pool.

Hilton Worldwide manages 36 hotels in Greater China and intends to expand its presence to more than 150 properties with 55,000 rooms over the next several years.

ASIA Atlantic Airlines, a new regional carrier, was launched on August 7 at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

A joint venture between Japanese travel giant H.I.S Group and prominent Thai hotelier Baiyoke Group, the airline will commence operations later this month with two Boeing 767-300ER aircraft to Tokyo and Osaka.

The carrier plans to expand its network in the next 12-24 months to take in China, South Korea, Guam and Hawaii as further aircraft are delivered.

– Read the full report in TTG Asia, August 23 issue

THE Tourism Council of Thailand is urging caution over the government’s lowering of educational standards for tour guides to cope with surging arrivals, which it says could cause long-term problems for the industry.

The concern followed tourism and sports minister Somsak Pureesrisak’s announcement last week that the minimum educational requirements for registered tour guides would be lowered from Grade 9 to Grade 4 for candidates proficient in Chinese, Russian or Korean. This was the second time in six months entry standards were lowered after the requirement for guides to be university educated was abandoned in February.

Surging tourist arrivals, which saw visitors from China double year-on-year between January and June (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 31, 2013), have strained the capacity of local tour guides. There is currently a shortage of foreign-language speaking guides for key source markets, including China (shortfall of 2,000), Russia (1,500) and South Korea (1,000), according to the Sports and Tourism Ministry.

However, the Tourism Council, which has yet to receive detailed information from the Ministry about the plans, is worried the initiative could erode overall standards and damage the industry’s credibility.

Said Apichart Patcharapinyopong, secretary of the Council: “Guides must have good knowledge and background (on Thailand’s history, culture and tourism). Lowering entry standards may solve the short-term problem (of a dearth of foreign-language speaking guides) but if the government is not careful it will create more problems than it solves in the long run.

“Even if they lower educational requirements, they mustn’t lower the standards. There has to be a mechanism for certifying guides.”

Apichart suggested that Thai schools could start offering a third language, while tourism jobs need to be made more attractive in terms of salary and prestige.

In addition, better professional language training akin to the English for MICE programme run by Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, which is also being expanded to cover Asian languages, should be developed.

“It should not just be a one-off course, there should be on-going development for people within the industry. The general public should be made aware of such courses and opportunities so they can continually enhance their skills,” he explained.