HILTON Colombo, armed with a US$45 million renovation plan, is the latest among five-star properties in Sri Lanka to spruce up its hardware in anticipation of 2.5 million visitors by 2016, a bold target set by the country’s tourism authorities.

Thiru Nadesan, chairman of the government-owned Hotel Developers, which owns the hotel, said local and international bids were called on Sunday for the refurbishment of the 362-room property. The hotel, opened in 1984, is said to be one of Colombo’s oldest five-star hotels.

Works will be done in two phases, with the first likely to start after September and be completed by August 2013. The hotel will be closed for the extensive makeover.

Nadesan said the company was searching for a suitable consultant and interior decorator.

Spurred by rising tourism demand following the end of Sri Lanka’s 30-year civil conflict, several hotels across the country have undergone major renovations in the past 18 months. Room inventory in the destination had also doubled.

In Colombo, the five-star, 229-room Ceylon Continental Hotel is being renovated at a cost of nearly US$14 million. The hotel has been closed since February and is slated to reopen this October.

The 300-room Taj Samudra, Colombo is planning an extensive remake later this year. A hotel spokesperson said costs were yet to be worked out but noted that works would be done in phases, with sections of the hotel closed.

Meanwhile, leisure industry sources told TTG Asia e-Daily that local players were negotiating with the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Raffles Hotels and Resorts to establish properties in Colombo.

“If these deals materialise, these hotels will come on stream by 2018,” an industry source said.

With arrivals already on the rise, Sri Lanka aims to double the number of rooms to more than 45,000, from the current stock of 22,000.

Big-name hotels such as Shangri-La, Six Senses, Mövenpick and Anantara have jumped into Sri Lanka, while Marriott, Hyatt and Sheraton are now under negotiation.

MALAYSIA is spinning off a new hotel brand, Datai Hotels & Resorts, from one of its most acclaimed resorts, The Datai Langkawi.

The resort is majority-owned by Khazanah Nasional, the government’s investment holding arm, and is managed by Archipelago Hotels & Resorts, also formed by Khazanah as part of the government’s plan to march forth in hospitality.

With the exception of Resorts World, Malaysia virtually does not boast homegrown hotel brands which have a regional or international footprint.

A second Datai will open in Desaru in September 2014, “with a number of other exciting projects in the pipeline”, said Frank Zeller, managing director of Archipelago.

The hotel is part of the Desaru Coast Integrated Tourism Destination, also driven by Khazanah.

Observers said The Datai Langkawi was a hard act to follow, in no small part due to its unique location and architecture, which cascades from centuries-old rainforest to a private beach.

Zeller said it was “the ideal foundation” from which to “thoughtfully” grow the brand “through the management of appropriate and exciting luxury iconic hotels and resorts in unique destinations around the world”.

Manuel Ferrer, managing director of Pacific World in charge of South-east Asia, betted on “good to very good” prospects for Datai Hotels & Resorts.

“There is a rapidly-growing class of affluent Asians for whom this kind of product is appealing. There’s the increasing fascination and willingness to travel to the Orient among Western world clients and there are tens of thousands of expats in the region willing to spend their breaks in this kind of property. Plus, depending on each property, there are meetings, events, weddings. So, the clients are there. It is a matter of…above all, sticking to the brand promise of ‘creating everlasting memories’.”

This is not the first time single properties have spun off chains. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group was built on the success of The Oriental, Bangkok (now The Mandarin Oriental Bangkok), while Soneva Fushi launched Six Senses Resorts & Spas, to name a few examples.

INDIA’s poster child OTA, MakeMyTrip, is on a prowl to buy more companies, having done three M&As since its blockbuster IPO on NASDAQ in 2010.

Founder & CEO Deep Kalra outlined three “buckets of M&As” when asked by TTG Asia about his strategy.

So far, the three companies bought by MakeMyTrip are disparate businesses: a 79 per cent stake in Luxury Tours & Travel Singapore; 29 per cent in Delhi-based My Guest House Accommodations, a portal focusing on budget accommodation in India; and 19.9 per cent in Ixigo, a leading travel meta search engine in India.

The first bucket enables MakeMyTrip to gain direct access to suppliers, such as its acquisition of Luxury. Kalra believes there is still a lot of potential to do more M&As in South-east Asia, “as that’s where Indians travel to”.

The second opens new customer segments for the company, such as its acquisition of My Guest House Accommodations.

The third bucket comprises niche travel technology players, like Ixigo.

– Read the full report in TTG Asia, May 4, 2012

ORBITZ Worldwide is steep in a project linking web to TV which its CEO, Barney Harford, told TTG Asia “is the future” of destination marketing.

The US-based online travel company is working with eminent adventure travel producer, Richard Bangs, to produce inspiring destination programmes for TV, which are then linked to Orbitz’s websites to enable people to book the exact experiences featured.

The first client is a yet-to-be-disclosed airline partner, but the destination is Latin America. The programme will be aired later this year on PBS, “which has 5,000 syndication slots”, he said, in an interview on the sidelines of the WTTC Global Summit recently.

– Read the full report, TTG Asia, May 4, 2012

THE SINGAPORE Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) has opened its membership to trade individuals and students in a bid to reach out to a larger pool of current and future trade practitioners.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of the second Singapore MICE Forum, which has drawn 165 trade players from 11 countries, SACEOS president, Rosalind Ng, said: “SACEOS membership was (only) offered to companies in the past, but we want to grow our membership further than the five to ten per cent seen between 2011 and 2012. So, we launched a new membership drive in March, targeted at individuals and students.

“Student members are given the opportunity to engage with the industry, gain real life experiences through internships, and see if they want to eventually join us. The common misconception students have in the MICE trade is that it involves only hotels. This isn’t true and we need to correct them, and one way to do this is to have them join SACEOS.”

Ng explained that it became necessary for SACEOS to extend its membership to individual trade practitioners, because the current corporate membership arrangement tends to restrict attendance at association events to company bosses.

“It is usually the managing director or CEO who attends SACEOS events, so benefits of networking or knowledge exchange programmes do not filter down (through the company). Yet, there are a lot of people who want to be part of our events and the trade intelligence we provide,” she said.

SACEOS individual and student membership is available at S$250 (US$201) and S$25 per annum respectively, while corporate membership rates start from S$750, depending on the size of the company.

TRANSASIA Airways has introduced once-weekly services from Hualien to Hangzhou in China.

This is the first scheduled cross-straits service for TransAsia out of Hualien, as the carrier seeks to target second tier Chinese cities as part of its regional expansion strategy.

The flight (GE3124) will depart Hualien every Thursday at 20:30, arriving in Hangzhou at 22:00. It will return from Hangzhou (GE3123) every Friday at 09:05, and land in Hualien at 10:35.

Vincent Lin, chairman, TransAsia Airways, said: “On April 28, Hangzhou will be included as a destination under the ‘Free Independent Travel’ programme. This coincides perfectly with our route launch enabling us to bring passengers from Hangzhou to Hualien.”

TransAsia currently operates 92 weekly flights from Taiwan to 12 destinations in mainland China, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing.

DRAGONAIR will begin daily services from Hong Kong to Clark International Airport, effective May 29.

Using an Airbus 320 aircraft with no business-class seats, the flight will be in direct competition with Cebu Pacific, SEAir and AirPhil Express, which already serve the route with lost-cost fares.

“The service is into a destination outside of the traditional gateways Manila and Cebu. By featuring Clark, Dragonair is giving travellers one more destination to choose from,” said Philippine Department of Tourism assistant secretary, Benito Bengzon, Jr.

“Anytime there is a new service to the Philippines, it means more seats for travellers. It is a good development,” he added.

Clark is Dragonair’s second destination in the Philippines. The carrier already flies five times weekly to Manila.

AIR India is showing signs of recovery after the Indian government approved its financial restructuring plan and agreed to inject fresh funds into its operations.

The US$600 million equity infusion that will take place over the next eight years will help the cash-strapped national carrier recast its debt servicing over a longer stretch. The airline currently forks out US$48 million in annual interest to banks.

Air India recorded a 7.9 per cent increase in passenger numbers and 46 per cent revenue growth in March, compared to the same month last year. The carrier performed particularly well on international sectors, recording almost 33 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue, which was catalysed by an eight per cent hike in load factor and higher yield of 28 per cent.

In 1Q2012, the carrier’s yield on international routes increased by 18 per cent over the same period last year. Revenue from international operations for the quarter grew by US$9 million, while domestic business jumped by US$8 million.

Anil Punjabi, chairman-east, Travel Agents Federation of India, said: “It will be good for the trade if Air India revives and flies to many (new) sectors. This will also rationalise prices as demand is growing constantly.”