FAR East Orchard (FEOrchard) will take the plunge Down Under if a proposed joint venture with Australian property management firm, Toga Group, is approved by shareholders.

The joint venture will see FEOrchard pay A$225 million (US$204.1 million) through a subsidiary for a 50 per cent stake in the joint venture company with Toga.

The new company will own Toga’s hospitality management business, which currently includes management of more than 50 hotels and serviced residences across Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Denmark, under the brands Medina, Adina and Vibe.

In April this year, FEOrchard had announced it was entering a joint venture with Straits Trading Company (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 16, 2013), with Straits Trading Company contributing three hotels in Australia – Rendezvous Grand Hotel Melbourne, Rendezvous Hotel Perth and Rendezvous Studio Hotel Perth Central.

The earlier joint venture is also up for approval by shareholders. According to local papers The Business Times, approval would mean FEOrchard will manage some 13,000 rooms across 80 hotels and serviced apartments, making the company one of Australia’s top five operators by room count.

MICEM, organiser of the World Islamic Tourism Mart (WITM) 2013, is expecting more buyers and sellers at the event this year.

Chairman of WITM 2013, Razali Mohd Sham, said he was anticipating 1,000 quality local and international buyers, up from 704 buyers last year, and 180 exhibitors over last year’s 132.

The second edition of WITM will comprise three big events held in two venues in Kuala Lumpur from September 4 to 8, beginning with a two-day conference, WITM 7^th International Conference on Muslim Tourism, Hajj & Umrah, covering topics such as the Malaysia Tourism Transformation Plan in Muslim tourism, syariah tourism and Muslim-friendly medical tourism.

The keynote address will be delivered by Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak.

WITM will also feature a B2B travel exchange networking session on September 6 and 7 at Putra World Trade Centre, and consumer travel fair WITM-MATTA September 2013 on the final day, at the same venue.

Razali said: “WITM 2013 caters to the vast untapped Muslim tourism market. With a population of over 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide, the Muslim tourism market is a gold mine waiting to be tapped. With WITM 2013, we now have a platform in Malaysia for tourism industry players to meet, network, showcase, market and sell their products and services.”

WITM had been originally scheduled for June 6 to 9 in Kuala Lumpur, but was postponed to coincide with the MATTA Fair in September.

Explaining the decision, Razali said: “We wanted it to coincide with MATTA Fair in September so we could have a larger show, which would gain more interest from the public. As both MATTA and WITM are travel shows, overseas exhibitors including NTOs, need not come twice.”

RELAIS & Châteaux wants to tap the “great potential” of the Asia-Pacific market and is strengthening its regional presence to do so.

Jaume Tapies, chairman of the board, Relais & Châteaux, said that the hotel and restaurant association had earmarked Asia-Pacific as a key source of revenue for 2014 and beyond, due to the growing affluence of Asian and Australian travellers.

Seven per cent of the 58.1 million euros (US$75.3 million) in reservations for the period July 2012 to June 2013 came from Asia-Pacific, a 36 per cent year-on-year increase, he said.

“We recognise the great potential that the Asia-Pacific traveller has for the future of our 520 hotels and restaurants around the world and we have acted on that by investing significantly in the region,” commented Tapies, who added that the association had established a four-person team and set up a central reservations office in Singapore over the last one-and-a-half years.

While Japan and Australia constituted Relais & Châteaux’s top markets in Asia-Pacific, Tapies cited Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan as smaller markets with a “significant” number of high net worth individuals and more mature travelling populations.

To strengthen its presence in the region, Relais & Châteaux has increased its budget for travel trade and public relations efforts and for expanding its network of hotels and restaurants.

Last month, the association hosted a series of travel trade and media events in Sydney, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Taipei, and has entered South Korea for the first time this year.

Furthermore, Relais & Châteaux has appointed Sebastian Sun, hotel owner of Le Sun Chine, Shanghai, as a delegate spokesperson for Asian member properties, excluding Japan.

The association has also recently launched a simplified Chinese version of its international guide and Route du Bonheur itineraries, and is due to roll out a revamped global website, along with simplified Chinese and Japanese language versions.

NATIONAL flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will launch flights to its sixth Chinese destination, Guangzhou, on July 16.

Flights to China’s third-largest city will run four times a week and link Manila and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, where PAL will be one of the few full-service carriers operating.

The move follows strong two-way traffic between Manila and Guangzhou. According to a PAL media release, some 52,279 travellers from Manila visited the capital of Guangdong province last year, while 56,107 Chinese tourists made their way to Manila during the same period.

PAL president, Ramon S Ang, said: “The launching of the Manila-Guangzhou-Manila route aims to further strengthen the strong ties between both cities. More importantly, this will allow business travellers and tourists the chance to spend time in the Philippines, and hop to any of our domestic or international destinations.”

PAL presently runs five other services to China, flying to Beijing, Xiamen, Shanghai, Macau and Hong Kong.

MINOR Hotel Group (MHG) has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Universal Enterprises’ Per AQUUM Retreats Resorts Residences, a deal which will see the expansion of the Per AQUUM brand.

Under the deal, MHG is investing US$4 million into the luxury retreat, resort, spa and residence management company and plans to grow Per AQUUM’s portfolio by at least five more properties within the next five years.

Expansion plans for Per AQUUM, to be a product of collaboration between MHG and Universal, will mirror MHG’s reach through Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and Africa.

MHG will also add the three existing Per AQUUM properties – Huvafen Fushi and NIYAMA in the Maldives and Desert Palm in Dubai – to its portfolio, increasing the group’s portfolio to a total of 91 properties across 12 countries.

EVASON Hua Hin will be separated from and run independently of the adjoining 55 pool villas, originally developed as Hideaway, effective August 1.

Currently undergoing refurbishment works, Evason Hua Hin will resume operations as a stand-alone brand in August, having returned to its original layout of 40 private villas with plunge pools and 145 guestrooms.

The reopened Evason Hua Hin will offer three restaurants, a poolside duplex bar, tennis courts, recreational facilities, fitness room, Children’s Club, conference facilities for up to 200 people, and the Earth Spa.

Six Senses and Evason Hua Hin managing director, Alan Thomas, commented: “The Evason brand has a very relaxed family orientation, with a nod towards affordability.

“The 55-pool villa entity being divested from Evason is really focused on a quite separate market. This move will give us the opportunity to enhance the facilities at Evason Hua Hin to better address our prime target markets.”

The 55-villa property will close for rebranding and renovation under the direction of its new operator, following the relaunch of Evason Hua Hin.

The two developments were consolidated in 2012 and acquired by Grande Asset from Owendelle Company, which currently operates the combined property under a licence agreement from Six Senses, owner of the Evason brand. Evason Hua Hin will continue to operate under the licence agreement.

While reservations for the updated Evason Hua Hin will not be affected, guests who hold bookings at the 55-key rebranded property will be contacted for reservation relocations.