Langham Hospitality Group (LHG) is set to open a new hotel in the city of Kunshan in the Jiangsu province of China.
The Cordis, Kunshan, Xiajia River will be situated in the Xiajia River Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, a vibrant commercial centre surrounded by lush gardens and pristine waterways.
The 285-key hotel, which is being developed by Kunshan Xincheng Development Construction Company, will be the 10th Cordis Hotels & Resorts property in operation or development in Mainland China.
The strategic location between the megacities of Shanghai and Suzhou – both of which are less than 30 minutes away by high-speed rail – will make the hotel a choice destination for business travellers; for leisure, the area offers a wide selection of unique attractions such as Yangcheng Lake, the historic towns of Qiandeng, Luzhi and Zhouzhuang, which is a canal-filled enclave that is often referred to as the Venice of the East.
LHG CEO Bob van den Oord said: “The property will seamlessly blend the needs of both business and leisure travellers, embodying our dedication to crafting memorable experiences that cater to diverse interests and preferences.”
He has previously held key roles at Amari Johor Bahru, Tunamaya Beach & Spa Resort Desaru, Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa Langkawi, and Hotel Royal Penang.
Within Earth Holidays, an inbound tour operator and destination management company based in Kuala Lumpur and specialising in the European inbound market to Malaysia, is expanding its operations to Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah and Indonesia’s Bali in the coming months to better serve its European clients for leisure and business events.
Executive director, Saini Vermeulen, announced that the company had recently secured its inbound license for Saudi Arabia, allowing the company to offer non-religious tours.
The company sees significant potential for inbound tourism from Europe to Saudi Arabia and will be establishing a sales and marketing office established in Jeddah in July – Within Earth Holidays will also collaborate with Saudi Tourism Authority to draw more visitors to the destination.
In addition, the Bali office will open in 2H2024, targeting inbound leisure and business events from Eastern Europe and German-speaking countries such as Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. He remarked that the German-speaking markets have shown increased interest in visiting the Far East post-lockdown, supported by improved air connectivity.
“We have been working with a good representation company based in Germany, who has great connection with agents in the German speaking markets and Europe who have brought leisure and business event groups to Malaysia and Indonesia for many years. Our agents appreciate our operations in Malaysia, and when our representation company ended their cooperation with an Indonesian ground handler, we saw it as an opportunity to open an office in Bali to service our European agents.”