Indonesia’s new hospitality company, Mora Group, launched on July 31 in Surabaya, East Java, with a gala dinner attended by 200 guests from the corporate and travel industry partners.
During the celebration, the Surabaya-based company also announced its strategic partnerships with Japan’s Select Hotel Group – to develop hotels with Japanese hospitality concept in Indonesia – and South Kalimantan’s Qin Group for Muslim-friendly accommodation.
Mora Group’s founder and CEO Andhy Irawan said that the new company will develop and operate Qin Group’s hotels, along with developing Select Hotels Group’s portfolio in the country, which will be managed by the Japanese hotel company.
Having developed its own brands, including the upscale Morazen, mid-scale Hemora, and Lamora for the economy-plus category, Mora Group currently has two properties – Morazen Surabaya and Morazen Yogyakarta – and targets to add eight more in the next two years.
According to Andhy, discussions with investors for Lamora and Hemora properties in Bandung, Bali, Surabaya, and Banyuwangi are ongoing.
Meanwhile, Qin Group presently owns two properties within one complex in Banjarbaru, which include the economy Qin Hotel and mid-scale Grand Qin Hotel. Two more properties are under construction in Samarinda, South Kalimantan and in Solo, Central Java, shared Norhin, founder and CEO of Qin Group.
Norhin noted that as the Muslim travel market was huge in Indonesia and there is ample opportunity for Muslim-friendly accommodation, he has set targets to operate 20 properties over the next couple of years.
“This partnership opens new opportunities to provide hospitality services friendly to Muslim travellers in Indonesia. We are also exploring several regions in Morocco and Medina for Qin Group’s business expansion plans,” he said.
With 50 hotels in Japan, Select Hotels Group is expanding into Indonesia with a target of 50 hotels in the economy and mid-scale categories. Hiroshi Nakamura, president and CEO of Select Hotels Group remarked: “Our (initial) target is to have 20 hotels here in the next three years – by building new, buying existing or rebranding properties.”
In the works are the opening of Select Hotels Group’s office in Surabaya, and the launch of its Indonesian brand, Kan Raku, a mid-scale category.
Andhy commented that aside from hotel management, Mora Group has set up a digital operational system not only for hotels but also for other commercial businesses. The group also has a hospitality academy and ancillary company, like laundry, in the pipeline.
“Through this collaboration, Mora Group is ready to transform Indonesia’s tourism sector by introducing advanced hospitality practices and inclusive services that attract tourists from around the world. By promoting cultural diversity and leveraging international expertise, Mora Group is committed to enhancing Indonesia’s tourism industry, driving economic growth, and enriching the travel experience for all visitors,” concluded Andhy.
With 17 years of experience, he was most recently trade manager business events for Tourism New Zealand, where he oversaw the development and implementation of business events strategy for South-east Asia.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is expanding its international routes, bringing its volume of global flight business back to that of pre-pandemic levels.
The Japanese airline will launch flights to Milan in December 2024, followed by Stockholm in January 2025 and Istanbul in February 2025. Each new route will serve Tokyo Haneda with three round trips a week.
The growth, which was scheduled but postponed due to global travel restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, is designed “to cater to growing demand for travel and strengthen bilateral exchanges” between Japan and the new countries in the network, said ANA in a statement.
The move builds on ANA’s recent route development, which saw its Paris and Munich flights increase to daily operations from July and its route to Vienna resume on August 1.
The Stockholm route is expected to “enhance convenience for passengers connecting to the Nordic region” while the new Istanbul route “will provide improved connectivity to the Middle East and Africa via Istanbul’s extensive hub network”, said ANA.
ANA president and CEO Shinichi Inoue stated the new routes “reflect ANA’s commitment to meet the increasing demand for travel between Japan and each country”.
The expansion of routes is also expected to increase the appetite among Japanese travellers to take trips overseas amid a slow recovery of the outbound market.
“We hope this expansion provides our travellers with greater choice, new customer experiences and reinforces our commitment to a seamless and enjoyable journey,” said Inoue.