TTG Asia
Asia/Singapore Monday, 29th December 2025
Page 369

Onyx Hospitality Group witnesses soaring demand from Indian market

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Thailand-based hospitality management company, Onyx Hospitality Group is witnessing strong growth numbers from the Indian market.

Kashyap Vora, vice president – corporate finance, investments & development of Onyx Hospitality Group, shared with TTG Asia that properties in Thailand, Malaysia and Maldives are leading in terms of the demand generation from India.

Vora: the Indian market has exhibited the highest growth base among other markets

“The demand from the Indian market is at an all-time high and growing rapidly. Comparatively, the Indian market has exhibited the highest growth base among other markets. The buoyant Indian economy and digitisation in the country are helping to grow the numbers from the Indian market,” said Vora.

Detailing the impressive growth statistics, Vora noted the phenomenal rise in Indian outbound marketing for properties like Amari Bangkok, Amari Pattaya, and Amari Phuket, boasting an approximate 108 per cent growth rate this year. Additionally, the newly-opened property, Amari Raya, in the Maldives has experienced a rapid surge in Indian arrivals.

Highlighting the growth in Malaysia, where the group operates four properties including Amari Penang, Amari Kuala Lumpur, Amari Johor Bahru, and Ozo in Penang, Vora remarked: “Two properties, Amari Penang and Amari Kuala Lumpur, have witnessed a 58 per cent increase in arrivals from India this year.”

Apart from higher occupancy from the Indian market, the group is also witnessing an increase in the average length of stay for Indian travellers. “Sharing an example, the average length of stay of India travellers visiting our Thailand properties used to be four to five nights. Now we have seen it increased to six to seven nights,” he said.

To tap the Indian market, the group with 55 years of operating history is also introducing India specific products in its properties like Nila, which offers Indian coastal cuisine apart from organising trade road shows in India.

As part of its expansion plans, Onyx Hospitality Group is gearing up to unveil new properties in the coming months, including Amari properties in Colombo and Laos, along with three additional properties in Malaysia under the Shama portfolio.

IHG signs InterContinental Sabah Kota Kinabalu Resort

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IHG Hotels & Resorts and Taipei real estate broker Zhancheng Tourism Development have partnered to introduce the eco-friendly InterContinental Sabah Kota Kinabalu Resort.

The 450-room new-build beachfront resort located in the capital of Sabah is scheduled to open in 2027. It will be IHG’s third hotel in Kota Kinabalu together with Holiday Inn Express Kota Kinabalu City Centre and the upcoming Crowne Plaza Kota Kinabalu Waterfront.

Rendering of InterContinental Sabah Kota Kinabalu Resort, slated to open in 2027

InterContinental Sabah Kota Kinabalu Resort will adopt environmentally-friendly practices throughout its design, construction and operations, and provide guests with immersive, close-to-nature stays through experiences that value, protect and care for the biodiversity of its location. All rooms, suites and villas will offer a strong “back-to-nature” theme steeped in Borneo culture, and feature a full range of modern creature comforts.

Some sustainability-based initiatives will include the resort using recycled water via a rainwater filtration system, local sourcing of goods and materials, an on-site food garden, and the use of low carbon materials from the local area.

Just a 25-minute drive from Kota Kinabalu International Airport, InterContinental Sabah Kota Kinabalu Resort will feature a 600m-long beach, with facilities such as four restaurants and bars, 2,400m2 of meeting space, fitness centre, spa, kids club, three outdoor pools and the Club InterContinental Lounge. Activities offered comprise island hopping, snorkelling, forest walks, mangrove kayaking expeditions, and firefly and proboscis monkey cruises.

Rajit Sukumaran, managing director, South East Asia and Korea, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “Kota Kinabalu is one of the leading leisure destinations in Malaysia and an eco-tourism hub renowned for its nature-based attractions and rich cultural heritage… we’re invested in bringing new and unique experiences to a range of city and resort destinations.”

Jetstar Asia restarts Singapore-Osaka services

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Jetstar Asia has relaunched its service from Singapore to Osaka via Manila on November 24.

Jetstar Asia resumes its Singapore-Osaka service

The low-cost carrier will operate five services a week between Singapore and Osaka, increasing to daily from December 30 to meet the pent-up demand for the service.

Birdwatching at The Aviary Hotel in Cambodia

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InterContinental Bali Resort welcomes new DOSM

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InterContinental Bali Resort has appointed Jeremy Brook as the new director of sales and marketing.

Brook brings a wealth of experience and a track record of success in both sales and marketing strategies. He is adept at fostering strong and productive business relationships and is known for his strong team-building skills.

He has previously worked at InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula in Vietnam, InterContinental Hong Kong, Bulgari Hotel London, Peninsula Hotels Brand, to name some.

Jamie Tan joins Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay, Singapore as hotel manager

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Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay has named Jamie Tan as its new hotel manager.

A seasoned professional, Tan has over 20 years of experience in the hotel industry, including a tenure of 15 years at Pan Pacific Hotels Group.

In her new role, she will take charge of the hotel’s operations team, which encompasses front office, culinary, food & beverage, security, engineering, housekeeping, and lifestyle (spa and wellness).

Stephen Cane helms as GM of Dorsett Melbourne

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Dorsett Melbourne has appointed Stephen Cane as its new general manager, bringing over 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry to his new role.

Most recently area general manager at Accor, Cane moved back to Melbourne from London where he lived for 20 years, 12 of which he worked as general manager to four- and five-star hotels.

Rented clothes, luggage delivery among services to encourage responsible travel in Japan

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Japanese companies are advancing their efforts to tackle travel-related problems, such as carbon emissions and disruption to local people, amid rising demand for responsible tourism among consumers.

“Travellers increasingly desire to make more sustainable choices regarding their travel destinations, accommodation, transportation and so on,” noted Japan Airlines in a statement, while noting that those travellers “still lack sufficient options”.

Luggage drop-off services for travellers can make commute on public transport in Japan more pleasing for travellers and residents

To meet those changing needs, the airline has teamed up with diversified business enterprise Sumitomo Corporation to launch “Any Wear, Anywhere,” a clothing sharing service designed to eliminate the need for the transportation of large luggage to Japan from overseas.

JAL customers can choose a clothing set dependent on the season and purpose of travel, including leisure or business, which is delivered to and picked up from their chosen hotel. After use, the clothing is cleaned and reused.

It is estimated that the service will enable a typical user travelling from New York to Tokyo to reduce the carbon emissions from their travel by 7.5kg, by just cutting back on 10kg worth of baggage.

Tokyo-based company Airporter, Inc., meanwhile, aims to provide hands-free travel by offering a luggage drop-off service at Japan’s main travel hubs. Travellers can request for their luggage to be delivered to their hotel or departure airport within the cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Okinawa.

According to the company, the experimental initiative aims “to promote empty-handed tourism” and prevent “crowding of city buses caused by the increase in inbound tourists”.

This year’s surge in inbound tourists using city buses has been particularly problematic for Kyoto, whose municipal government, in September, introduced extra bus services, began encouraging greater use of the subway, ended the sale of one-day bus passes and began promoting services like Airporter that enable travel without luggage.

“We aim to realise sustainable tourism,” said Airporter.

China offers visa-free entry for citizens of six nations

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China will temporarily exempt citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia from needing entry visas in a bid to boost tourism recovery.

China is making it more accessible for travellers; Beijing Daxing International Airport pictured

The exemption will be in effect from December 1 this year to November 30, 2024.

It will be available to those visiting China for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, or transiting for no more than 15 days.

Thailand to lure more Chinese through Fliggy partnership

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The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and online travel platform Fliggy have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to strengthen their partnership in promoting Thailand’s tourism and improving Chinese tourists’ travel experiences in Thailand.

The LOI will formalise the TAT-Fliggy partnership, while further enhancing the cooperation in several areas.

Special travel deals and an all-day Chinese customer service hotline are among the things TAT and Fliggy will establish for Chinese travellers

Both parties will identify pilot locations and leverage technology to promote “smart scenic destinations” to improve Chinese tourists’ experiences. In addition, they will collaborate on developing and promoting emerging Thai destinations, dubbed “Potential Hidden Gems”.

The LOI will also see this strategic collaboration on promotional content and campaigns specifically for Chinese tourists, particularly during special events such as Double 11, Golden Week, and Chinese New Year.

To help ensure the safety and create a better experience for tourists at any destination across Thailand, a 24/7 Chinese customer service hotline will be set up to communicate with Chinese tourists and address their concerns.

Thapanee Kiatphaibool, TAT governor, said: “The partnership with Fliggy will provide TAT with a broader platform to showcase the charm of “Amazing Thailand” and a diverse range of tourism products and services. We look forward to working with Fliggy to attract more Chinese tourists to our country.”

Zhuoran Zhuang, CEO of Fliggy, added: “Cross-border tourism is showing a promising recovery trend. As a leading platform for Chinese outbound independent travel, Fliggy has formed a deep partnership with TAT to collaborate on service upgrades, experiential innovation, promoting travel destinations, and talent development. This collaboration will bring people more diverse and high-quality travel options to Thailand, thus further strengthening the confidence of local businesses and the tourism industry.”

Previously, Fliggy and TAT initiated joint campaigns to communicate the readiness of Thailand in welcoming Chinese tourists post-pandemic, including online travel programmes and livestream broadcasts promoting Thai travel experiences and special packages.