LAGUNA Hospitality and Dusit International have inked a joint venture agreement to develop a Dusit Thani urban golf resort in Singapore.

Still subject to relevant government approvals and licensing, the project is currently slated to open at the end of 2015.

The new Dusit Thani golf resort will be located within the grounds of the 36-hole Laguna National Golf and Country Club, giving guests direct access to a golf club in Singapore.

This also places the resort five minutes from Singapore Changi Airport, 20 minutes from the city-state’s central business district and close to both Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre and Changi Business Park.

A press release from Dusit International said that the new resort “is expected to attract a balance of corporate/MICE and leisure travellers as well as current patrons of the Laguna National membership base”.

The property will offer some 200 guestrooms, four dining and entertainment outlets, meetings and event spaces, and recreational facilities such as swimming pools, a gym and a spa.

INDIA has scooped first position as Abu Dhabi’s largest source market, with trade players attributing this to the city tourism authority’s promotion efforts.

According to data from Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), 80,179 Indian nationals stayed in Abu Dhabi’s hotels in 1H2013, a 22 per cent year-on-year rise, with the average Indian traveller staying 4.2 nights, a 17 per cent increase.

Mubarak Al Muhairi, director general, TCA Abu Dhabi, explained: “We are benefiting from increased destination awareness in India following the opening of a dedicated promotions office there a year ago, and also from increased air access following Etihad Airways’ (acquisition of) a stake in Jet Airways, and the shift of the Indian carrier’s Middle East hub to Abu Dhabi.”

He added that 2H2013 would see an acceleration in arrivals with a number of high-profile events such as the 2013 Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix coming to the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

“What’s really encouraging is that guests are staying longer – which suggests our campaign to convince people that there’s now much more to do and see in Abu Dhabi is taking hold. We’ve broken through the three nights mark,” Al Muhairi shared.

Jaal Shah, managing director, Ahemedabad-based Travel Designers, said: “The Etihad-Jet Airways tie-up may have enhanced connectivity but TCA Abu Dhabi has marketed their multiple tourist attractions in India very well and packaged them effectively for Indian leisure and incentive travel.”

Meanwhile, Anshuman Mitra, managing director, Starlite DMC New Delhi, predicted 2013 would be a landmark year for Indian arrivals to Abu Dhabi. “Moreover, people who have already done Dubai a few times now want another comparable destination, which is now there for the taking.”

India pushed the UK, which sent 78,053 arrivals in 1H2013, to second place. Other key markets include Germany (62,488) and Russia (12,094).

From January to June, 1.3 million guests checked into Abu Dhabi’s hotels and the average number of nights stayed was 3.2, up 12 per cent from last year.

THE Grand Hyatt Shenyang opened its doors yesterday, becoming the first Hyatt-branded hotel in the North-east China region.

Located in a new 29-storey tower on Qingnian Avenue, the property is situated near corporate headquarters and premier residential buildings and offers convenient access to Shenyang Taoxian International Airport.

Christopher Koehler, vice president of operations, China, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, said: “The opening of Grand Hyatt Shenyang expands our brand presence in China and supports our development strategy of building in key gateway cities and markets where our guests are travelling.”

The hotel features 353 guestrooms beginning at 42m², and 34 suites ranging from 84m² to 252m², all equipped with free, high-speed broadband wireless Internet. Grand Club accommodations, located on the 23^rd floor, allow guests to enjoy services and amenities such as a continental buffet breakfast, evening cocktails, express check-in and checkout, and the use of the Grand Club meeting room.

Grand Hyatt Shenyang comes with a range of destination restaurants and bars: The Lounge for business meetings and social gatherings; the all-day Café Kitchen; three Chinese restaurants – Cuan, Xin Feng Tian and Jun Hui 28; Italian steakhouse Il Forno and luxury lounge FA’R.

Meeting planners can take advantage of the hotel’s 3,430m² in meeting space. This includes the centrepiece 1,022m² Grand Ballroom with 8m-high ceilings, and 10 multi-purpose meeting and function spaces ranging from 38m² to 1,022m², all equipped with wireless Internet, cutting-edge technology and the Technology Concierge team on standby.

The Residence is a residential-style event venue spanning 38m² to 250m² and capable of hosting up to 300 guests for cocktail receptions, private parties and wedding banquets.

Other amenities include the wellness centre boasting the Qing Spa with six private treatment suites, a fitness centre and an indoor swimming pool.

TTG Asia Media’s TTGmice has clinched the 2013 PATA Gold Award’s Travel Journalism – Business Article Award for an article on sustainability efforts in Asia, affirming TTGmice’s claim as Asia-Pacific’s leading meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions resource.

Written by TTG Asia group editor Karen Yue, TTGmice’s July 2012 cover story A Brighter Shade of Green studies the Asia-Pacific MICE industry’s reception of environmentally-friendly facilities and practices, spotlighting notable green venues including the Cairns Convention Centre and the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

“We are thrilled to have won this award,” said Yue. “More importantly, I hope this will inspire meeting planners to push for sustainability, and to pay greater attention to the efforts venues put into green facilities and practices.”

TTGmice had previously won the PATA Gold Award in 2011 and 2009 for the November 2010 cover story Rebuilding the team and September 2008 cover story, DMCs defined: The real knights of creativity, respectively.

This year’s PATA Gold Awards saw 165 entries from 60 PATA and non-PATA organisations around the world. The 18^th year the PATA Gold Awards have been recognising industry achievements, the awards ceremony will take place at Jinjiang Hotel, Chengdu on September 15, before the PATA Travel Mart 2013.

CHINESE visitors to Phuket reached record levels in 1H2013 when almost half a million mainlanders came to the island, a growing trend that is changing the face of tourism “from west to east”.

One-in-four international arrivals to Thailand’s largest island during the first six months were Chinese, a dynamic which is reshaping the local tourism market, according to C9 Hotelworks’ Phuket Hotel Market Mid-Year Update 2013 report, which will be published tomorrow.

While surging Chinese arrivals were good for business, over-reliance on a single market brought its own risks, said the consultancy’s managing director, Bill Barnett.

“There have been a lot of worries (about the surge in Chinese arrivals) that happens any time you over-leverage one market,” he said. “There are concerns about what happens if China cools, could the drop in business be made up from another market?

“There are also cultural issues. We’ve already seen a cultural backlash against the Russian market in Phuket from locals and we’re starting to see that with the Chinese too. Mono-markets are never good. There has to be more complexity, but the face of tourism is definitely changing from west to east.”

The report, which excludes arrivals from Hong Kong, found that 457,401 Chinese arrived at Phuket International Airport between January to June, up from a mere 37,948 in 2007. This accounted for almost one-fifth of the record 2.3 million Chinese who came to the country from January to June.

Increased air access and the fact that Phuket lies within the crucial six-hour window from China were key drivers of the trend, which saw the northern neighbours account for more than half of all Asian arrivals to the island, said Barnett.

Twenty-two Chinese cities now have direct flights to Phuket, up from seven in 2007. China accounted for 18 per cent of all international scheduled charter flights to Phuket in 1H2013.