GIC Real Estate acquires Park Hyatt Melbourne - 11 August 2003 - GIC Real Estate acquired the 240-room Park Hyatt Melbourne from Lustig & Moar Corporation for A$125.7 million or A$523,750 per key. Last year, GIC Real Estate also bought Shangri-la hotel and Westin in Sydney for A$206.5 million and A$160 million.

New hotel in Mauritius - 11 August 2003 - The Indian Hotels Company Ltd signed a 10-year franchise agreement with Mauriplage Beach Resort Ltd to manage a proposed hotel in Mauritius. The proposed hotel, located at Wolmar, the district of Black River, comprises 78 villas, food and beverage outlets and leisure facilities. The construction begins in August 2003 and is expected to be completed by November 2004.

Organisation changes at HK Rosedale - 11 August 2003 - Hong Kong's Rosedale Hotel Group Ltd considers transferring its hotel and leisure-related businesses to its controlling shareholders in a group reorganisation. The firm plans to transfer its hotel businesses to Apex Quality Group Ltd, and offer to shareholders one Apex share for each Rosedale share held. Ananda Wing On Travel (Holdings) Ltd, which holds 49.3% of Rosedale, plans to make a general offer for Apex shares at HK$0.26 each on completion of the reorganisation whilst China Strategic Holdings Ltd will have a 22.6% stake in Apex.

Taj Indore Residency Hotel sold - 12 August 2003 - The Taj group sold the 78-room Taj Residency Hotel in Indore to Mumbai-based Suraaj Hotels & Resorts. Fortune Park Hotels will manage the hotel and re-brand it Fortune Landmark. Moreover, Fortune Park Hotels plans to add 28 new properties by 2007 to its portfolio and increases its revenue from Rs50 crore to Rs120 crore by 2007.

Jakarta hotel occupancy down to 35% after the J.W. Marriott booming - 12 August 2003 - Demand for hotel accommodations at Jakarta decreased significantly after the bombing at the J.W. Marriott Hotel last week. According to the Jakarta International Hotel Association (JIHA), the hotel market-wide occupancy declined to 35% after the Marriott blast compared to 50% before. Moreover, JIHA expects the hotel market-wide occupancy to be approximately 40% for the full year 2003 as well as for 2004.

Visitor arrivals to Australia down 9% in June 03 - 12 August 2003 - Visitor arrivals to Australia declined by 9% in June 2003 compared to the same period last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Visitor arrivals from China and Japan declined 57% and 41%. However, arrivals from Hong Kong and Korea increased by approximately 24%.

Accor to add nine in China - 13 August 2003 - - Accor announced plans to open nine new hotels in mainland China in 2003 to meet the growing demands of regional Asian tourists. These include five hotels under the Sofitel brand: the 200-room Sofitel Westlake Hangzhou, the 306-room Sofitel Anshan, the 350-room Sofitel Shijiazhuang, the 370-room Sofitel Shenyang and the 325-room Sofitel Wanda Chengdu. Furthermore, Accor will manage two more hotels under its Novotel brand including the 155-room Novotel Oasis Beijing and the 250-room Novotel Nanjing. Finally, Accor will open two hotels under its Ibis brand, the 154-room Ibis Tianjin and the 150-room Ibis Chengdu.

Keppel Land considers selling hospitality division - 13 August 2003 - The Business Times reported Keppel Land, the property arm of Singapore-based conglomerate Keppel Corp, plans to sell its loss-making hotel business worldwide as the hospitality division is considered a non-core business to the group. The paper reports an estimated value of S$500million for the company's hotels, resorts and serviced apartment branches. However, the source was unnamed.

Oakwood to expand in Asia Pacific region - 13 August 2003 - Oakwood Worldwide is set to expand its serviced apartment business in the Asia Pacific region. The company expects to manage a second property in Bangkok. Moreover, Oakwood plans to add 500 additional units in Dhaka, Bangalore, Tokyo and Beijing between 2004 and 2005.

Hang Huo to develop budget hotel in Singapore - 13 August 2003 - Hang Huo Enterprise has clinched an S$280,000 tender to convert two blocks of conservation flats in Tiong Bahru, Singapore, into a budget hotel. The China-based company outbid four other parties for the project and plans to invest up to S$30 million to provide over 400 rooms. According to the company's Vice President and Head of Business Development Felix Wee, one of the blocks would be a budget service apartment and the other larger block will be a budget hotel.

Lone Star sponsors bankrupt Holiday Tower - 14 August 2003 - U.S. investment fund Lone Star Group has been chosen as a sponsor for bankrupt hotel management firm Holiday Tower Co. in Japan and its three affiliated firms - Toyohashi Sports Center, Toa Kogyo and Taiyo Fudosan. Holiday Tower, based in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, operates Hotel Nikko Toyohashi.

Visitor to Hong Kong down 8.9% in July 03 - 14 August 2003 - According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, visitor arrivals to Hong Kong decreased by 8.9% to 997,455 in July 2003 compared to the same month last year. Arrivals to Hong Kong from all major feeder markets decreased with the exception of 17.5% increase in total number of mainland Chinese arrivals in July 2003. However, the result shows an improvement to declines of 38% in June and 68% in May.

Marriott signs new resort in Hainan Island - 14 August 2003 - Marriott International signed a management agreement with Sanya Jahwa Resort Development Co. to manage its first resort in China. The Sanya Marriott Resort, located in Sanya, the southern coast of Hainan island, is expected to open by the first quarter of 2004. The 453-room hotel comprises food and beverage outlets, recreational and meeting facilities.

Visitor arrivals to Vietnam down 20% in 2003 - 15 August 2003 - According to the Vietnam Administration of Tourism, Vietnam received 1.23 million foreign visitors in the first seven months of 2003, a 20% drop compared to the same period last year. Nevertheless, in July, visitor arrivals to Vietnam reached 153,531, a 44% increase over June, suggesting tourism arrivals have started to recover from SARS.

Indian Golden Park rebranded Quality Inn Golden Park - 15 August 2003 - The Indian Golden Park Hotel, a property of the Gujaral Group of Hotels, became a Quality Inn hotel following a tie-up arrangement with Choice Hospitality Pvt Ltd under the franchise of Quality Inn. The 72-room hotel will be re-branded Quality Inn Golden Park.

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