TEN of India’s leading travel trade associations officially joined hands in mid-May to form the Federation of Associations of Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), a new organisation that purports to address industry issues and demands.

Some of the issues the new organisation plans to look into immediately include industry status for the sector, extending India’s visa-on-arrival scheme to more countries and simplifying the tax regime.

Discussions for the formation of FAITH started a year ago, but some members of the Indian Association of Tour Operators had expressed concerns that joining FAITH would dilute the relevance of their association, before finally taking the plunge, said sources.

The nine other members are Travel Agents Association of India, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India, Travel Agents Federation of India, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India, Indian Tourist Transporters Association, Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India, India Convention Promotion Bureau, Indian Heritage Hotels Association and Hotel Association of India (HAI).

Parvez Diwan, secretary, Ministry of Tourism, said: “It is a great initiative by all the associations who have decided to come together to take up the challenges that concern the industry. I, on behalf of the tourism ministry, extend all our support to FAITH.”

Nakul Anand, chairman, FAITH and president, HAI, said: “We are keen to work closely with different Indian states to find solutions to various issues. Indian states needs to realise the economic benefits of tourism.”

Sarabjit Singh has been appointed vice chairman of FAITH, Subhash Verma appointed Secretary and Tejbir Singh Anand, treasurer. Aashish Gupta is consultant CEO.

THE Singapore Flyer has been placed under receivership a mere five years after the attraction first opened, but will continue business as usual in the meantime.

Tim Reid, Theresa Ng and Tan Aik Kiat of Ferrier Hodgson have been appointed receivers and managers over the charged assets, according to a press release from Ferrier Hodgson.

“We are confident that we will be able to identify investors with the vision to manage, diversify and enhance the Singapore Flyer, thereby securing its long-term future as a significant Singapore attraction. We will be calling for expressions of interest shortly to commence the process,” said Reid in the statement.

He added: “It is business as usual at Singapore Flyer, and we look forward to the support of the management and staff through this process. We are committed to working closely with business partners and tour operators to ensure smooth operations throughout the receivership.”

Although the same press release said the attraction has been seeing an increase in visitor numbers, both local and international, year-on-year, local broadsheet The Straits Timesreported that passenger numbers were “below targets”.

MARRIOTT International’s latest and seventh property in Malaysia, the 345-room Renaissance Johor Bahru Hotel, has begun welcoming guests.

The hotel is located in the township of Permas Jaya, close to the Johor Bahru city centre and the port and industrial area of Pasir Gudang, and also falls under the Iskandar Development Region.

Guests at the hotel can choose to dine at any of the property’s four restaurants and bars, including Café BLD for all-day dining, Wan Li Restaurant for contemporary Cantonese cuisine, The Chocolate Cake Company for pastries, and lobby bar R-Bar.

The hotel also features an outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre, seven flexible meeting rooms with state-of-the-art technology and natural lighting.

HONG KONG-based New World Hospitality has changed its name to Rosewood Hotel Group, a move it says makes sense as the Rosewood brand, which it acquired in 2011 for US$229.5 million (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 21, 2011), is most widely-represented geographically.

Rosewood Hotel Group continues to manage three brands, the luxury Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, deluxe New World Hotels and ‘neighbourhood lifestyle’ Pentahotels.

“As Rosewood is the group’s marquee brand, and the one whose properties are most widely represented geographically, we feel it is more appropriate for the company to adopt the Rosewood name,” said CEO Sonia Cheng.

The name change comes as the group gears up for expansion, from 40 hotels in 14 countries in the portfolio now, to 90 hotels worldwide in operation or pipeline in five years. “This lends the right positioning for this scale of growth,” Symon Bridle, COO, told TTG Asia e-Daily in an email.

On marketing plans for the marquee and its three brands following this name change, Bridle said: “Our visibility is established through participation in industry and developer conferences and an active development team, while the individual brands are marketed quite separately and independently as our focus remains on developing the brands individually according to their distinct market tiers and customer bases.”

Cheng, who is travelling, could not be reached for further comments on the pros and cons of trading the old New World name, which is household in Hong Kong and China, with the US-originated Rosewood, which is relatively new in Asia. New World Hospitality had existed since the 1980s, part of Hong Kong conglomerate New World Group, and was re-established in 2006 under Cheng’s charge.

The latest move marks a new chapter in Cheng’s US$1.1 billion effort to establish a global hospitality company (View From the Top, TTG Asia, December 3, 2010).