WYNDHAM Hotel Group is strengthening its presence in China by entering into franchise agreements with four different Chinese developers to construct new hotels under its Ramada brand.

“As China remains an important market for us, we (will) continue to look for growth opportunities in new cities and provinces,” said Frank Trampert, managing director for Wyndham Hotel Group in Asia-Pacific.

All four properties will open in 2013, adding to the group’s 46 Ramada hotels currently operating in China.

Set in Xingfu Town, Dujiangyan in Chengdu city, the 293-room Ramada Plaza Chengdu West is part of a large-scale commercial complex, and will feature a fitness centre, eight meeting rooms and three restaurants.

The 289-room Ramada Huizhou South, located near Dayawan Petrochemicals Industrial Park and about an hour’s drive from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, will offer an outdoor pool, sauna, a ballroom and six meeting rooms totalling 2,000m².

The 179-room Ramada Kunming North will be situated in a 428-hectare real estate development area, which includes a horse racing club, two 18-hole golf courses, a conference centre, luxurious residences, entertainment facilities and a natural wetland park. The hotel’s business amenities include a grand ballroom, five meeting rooms and six boardrooms with over 1,000m2 space.

Ramada Hotel Pingtan, located in Pingtan’s Experimental Zone and 65km from Fuzhou Changle International Airport, will offer 150 rooms and four meeting rooms totalling 500m².

HONG Kong Disneyland is set to open Grizzly Gulch on July 14, the second and largest of three themed areas built as part of the resort’s US$460 million expansion plan.

Grizzly Gulch, which comes less than a year after the November 2011 debut of Toy Story Land, was created exclusively for the resort. Set in a Wild West-inspired landscape, it will feature a welcome show, photographic points, F&B outlets and the Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, which are 24-pax terrain-style coasters running through the entire zone.

To drive awareness of Grizzly Gulch, the resort will leverage on webinars and online videos to showcase the new attraction to over 2,000 trade partners in the region. Three preview days for the travel trade will also be held consecutively in July.

The third themed area, Mystic Point, is scheduled to open in 2013.

LANDMARK Village Hotel in Singapore will offer a new Premier Room category once its US$2.2-million refurbishment is completed in December.

Currently, a single floor of over 30 renovated Premier Rooms has already been released for sales. Each of the rooms, measuring 32m2, features contemporary design, modern furnishings, a 40-inch LCD HDTV, a recliner armchair, an open-concept wardrobe, and a rain shower.

The rest of the Premuim inventory will come online by August 1, after which the hotel will turn its attentions to renovating its Deluxe Rooms.

Meanwhile, Landmark Village Hotel is offering discounted rates for the new Premier Room from now till September 25, 2012. Prices start from S$228++ (US$180++) (single occupancy)/ S$248++ (double occupancy) per night, including complimentary buffet breakfast and unlimited Internet access for one user.

Rates are subject to 10 per cent service charge and prevailing government taxes.

For reservations, call (65) 6512-2231 or email sales.landmark@stayvillage.com

THE INDONESIAN Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy has earmarked seven specific areas in which it plans to develop its special interest tourism portfolio from 2012-2014.

These focus areas include cultural and historic tourism; nature and ecotourism; sports and recreation; cruises; culinary and shopping; spa and wellness; and events.

Speaking at a workshop in Puncak, West Java, last weekend, the ministry’s director general of tourism destination development, Firmansyah Rahim, said: “Within these (areas), we have narrowed down and placed development focus on specific locations and sub-themes to work on in the next two years.”

For example, underwater photography, a sub-category of sports and recreation tourism, will highlight destinations such as Raja Ampat, Wakatobi, Derawan, Lembeh, Nabire, Morota and North Halmahera. For shopping, featured destinations will include Jakarta, Bandung, Jogjakarta, Surabaya, Bali, Medan and Batam, while spa and wellness havens will comprise Bali, Jogjakarta, Batam, Bintan, Jakarta, Surabaya and Lombok.

Bondan Winarno, a culinary expert and Jalansutra cultural leader, said: “Culinary tourism has been neglected (by the Indonesian authorities) when it’s actually the most ready product for marketing and promotion.”

He urged the Indonesian government to promote the opening of Indonesian specialty restaurants overseas, similar to what Thailand did a few years ago.

Yos Dive Indonesia owner, Yos Amerta, said: “Why don’t we establish Manado as a hub to make it more convenient for North Asian travellers to visit Indonesia, so that north Sulawesi’s dive spots can also get a share of these tourists before they go on to Bali?”

“We keep targeting the longhaul sector, but overlook the markets in front of us. China is a potential market (for marine tourism), with Chinese groups in Bali spending US$350 per day, but (Indonesia) has not tapped this segment seriously,” he added.

MARRIOTT International has rolled out Renaissance Hotels’ first-ever global advertising campaign, Live Life to Discover.

Created in partnership with global marketing and communications agency Anomaly, the new multi-faceted campaign encourages business travellers to explore a hotel or destination’s hidden attractions through recommendations provided by Renaissance Hotels’ hospitality lifestyle concierge service, also known as ‘Navigators’.

Tina Edmundson, senior vice president of lifestyle brands, Marriott International, said: “Live Life to Discover embodies the global spirit of Renaissance Hotels and today’s lifestyle-business traveller, and their eagerness to explore the world beyond their everyday routines.”

The global print campaign, with visuals shot by acclaimed photographer David Black, will feature in 32 countries across various lifestyle, business and travel print media, as well as key out-of-home sites in the US and China.

In addition, Renaissance Hotels will highlight a full-scale re-invention of the brand online, encompassing a website re-launch (www.renhotels.com), enhanced social media marketing and a digital advertising campaign.