While the world is watching the media reports of the military coup in Thailand and governments are warning against non-essential travel to Thailand, the Thai tourism industry is experiencing another punch to the gut.
Regal iClub Hotel, in Wan Chai Hong Kong has been officially renamed as iclub Wan Chai Hotel effective today. The iclub Wan Chai Hotel is one of the new iclub Hotel brand properties managed by Regal Hotels International. With an eco-friendly service philosophy, iclub Hotel's service concept will be environmental friendly and hassle free.
To celebrate the 35th anniversary year, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) organised the Global Tourism & Hospitality Conference and Asia Tourism Forum (Global 2014 & 11th ATF) jointly with the Taylor & Francis Group on 18-20 May at Hotel ICON, Hong Kong. The conference provided an effective platform for academics, industry leaders, journal editors, young scholars and researchers to define the future roadmap of the industry, and strengthened the SHTM's role as a world-leading provider of hospitality and tourism education.
Average time spent on mobile: 1.61 hours per userData compiled from 650,000 India-based mobile users over three months showed that mobile users in Mumbai are more active on their devices compared to their counterparts. Compared to the average time spent on mobile of 1.61 hours per user across requests, Mumbai travellers were 14 per cent more engaged, followed by Kolkata travellers at eight per cent. Bangalore travellers came up least engaged at 18 per cent less than the average.
The midscale hotel market in China has begun to receive attention from many international and domestic hotel brands. This article discusses the development trends and operation models for midscale hotels in China. Against the backdrop of the declining profits of upscale and economy hotels, the midscale hotelmarket which has always been considered less important in China has begun to receive attention from many international and domestic hotel brands. Considering the large room for growth and development potential for midscale hotels in China, branded hotel groups are adopting different strategies to develop and seize China's midscalehotel market.
Kempinski will host its third Career Day in Beijing on April 12th 2014 at the Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Centre. External applicants and current employees will have the opportunity to meet, in a speed dating fashion, directly with the 20 general managers of every Kempinski hotel in China as well as the regional presidents of China, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Jin Jiang International Hotels will once again partner with Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world's premier business travel and corporate meetings organization, for GBTA Asia's second annual regional China Conference to be held from 31 March-2 April in Shanghai.
The second Digital Innovation Asia Awards (www.DIAawards.com), recognizing the most innovative, creative, and performance-driven e-tourism initiatives in Asia. The DIA Awards presents awards for the tourism industry, as well as for the first time this year for bloggers.
Regal Hotels, one of the largest hotel operators in Hong Kong, recently announced the launch of its brand new global advertising campaign, STAY REGAL. The STAY REGAL advertisement features a chic and elegant lady who depicts as someone deserves to be treated like royalty, providing an emotional link to like–minded customers.
Mr Kofi A. Annan, founding chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation and Secretary-General of the United Nations, 1997-2006 will provide the keynote address at the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit, which will take place in Sanya on the island of Hainan, China, on 24-25 April. In 2001, Mr Annan and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Kofi Annan was praised for being "pre-eminent in bringing new life to the organization" (Norwegian Nobel Committee, October 2001). Since leaving the United Nations, Kofi Annan has been active pressing for policies that will meet the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly in Africa. He continues to use his experience to mediate and resolve conflict. Joining Mr Annan on the speakers' platform will be more than forty other leading figures from the worlds of business, sport and Travel & Tourism. The 14th Global Summit in Hainan Province, China, will explore 'Changing world, new perspectives'. Public and private sector leaders from outside and inside the industry will examine historical perspectives and their relevance for the future. They will look at Travel & Tourism from a new angle and seek to develop a new industry proposition that goes beyond the economic agenda, identifying how businesses can benefit from this new way of thinking.
eRevMax, the leading hotel online distributions and channel management solutions provider has released an Infographic - The Indian Traveller 2014 shedding key insights on new age Indian travellers.
HVS Bangkok Director Christian Pucher recently shared updates and counsel for the hotels in his locale: The protests that began in November 2013 have been taking their toll on hotels' performance amidst what would regularly be the high season. Occupancies are said to be down by 20-40 % on average as travelers cancel or postpone their trips to the City. As the protests are localized to specific areas of the city, some hotels near the protest sites are feeling the impact considerably more than others. "Past conflicts have shown that the market is resilient and that occupancies tend to recuperate to normal levels within three to four months of conflict resolution. As the situation prolongs over time, the immediate threat is that some hotels will be challenged to meet their financial obligations, which in turn would have a short-term negative impact on employment in the Bangkok hotel market," explains Pucher. "The long-term threat lies in the reduction of market- wide average hotel rates. As the situation normalizes, hotels will need to make efforts to help bring back business, through tactical promotional offers - targeted and limited to a period of time.. However, during and after previous crises, the market had reacted differently, in that rates were actually dropped across the board rather than launching temporary offers." "It is very hard to rebuild rates once they have been lowered, affecting returns over a longer period," adds Pucher. Over the past eight years, Bangkok hotel performance has suffered as a result of several political conflicts, flooding, as well as the slow recovery of the global economy. These conflicts have had a direct negative effect on hotel occupancies as visitors have deferred their travel plans to the city. Additionally, hotel rates have been largely stagnant or even depressed over the last few years through a combination of all of the preceding factors - global economic slowdown, political unrest in the region, increasing appeal of other neighboring cities, and stiff competition induced by an augmentation in supply which is set to continue for the next few years. Additionally,, with a surge in real estate prices, escalating construction costs, as well as higher operating costs-returns on hotel investments have become less attractive. "While the overall economic and political scenario has had an impact on multiple industries and sectors across the spectrum, it is important to remember that the hospitality industry is cyclical in nature and is typically one of the first to rebound, post downturns and crises.," explains Pucher. "Hence, despite the prevailing issues, Bangkok remains and will continue to grow as an attractive destination for tourism and particularly the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions/Events (MICE) segment, which has driven occupancies and contributed to overall growth, since 2012." With the upcoming launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, tourism will continue to grow as will investment from member countries into Thailand, which will drive corporate, transient and MICE business. Furthermore, Bangkok has the opportunity, through its overall offering, to emerge as one of the top global destinations for MICE. An increase in MICE business would help the much needed growth in average rates, however becoming a global MICE destination will require a collaborative effort; hotels will need to work more closely with one another as well as with national organizations such as the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB). [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]
Richard Solomons, CEO of InterContinental Hotels Group (IHS), discusses his strategy, after the company sold most of the buildings it owned. IHG is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels & Resorts.
Director Feng Xiaogang's latest comedy Personal Tailor (2013) has been a hit with moviegoers entertained by its plot about a group of actors who run a company helping people to live out their fantasies. But it isn't just on the big screen that such dreams can come true. Richard Hou, executive vice president of Beijing Tangram Hotels Management, said white-collar workers can now get this kind of customized, personable service in real life. Hou is determined to make Tangram Hotels a leading player in the local hospitality industry scene. With nearly 20 years' experience in the field, Hou has held various senior management positions within the Beijing Tourism Group. An excellent communicator, Hou summarizes Tangram Hotels' mission in three words: small, white and modern. Small represents a spirit of youthfulness, white represents white-collar workers and modern represents fashionable sensibility.
Hoteliers in China are optimistic about the future of the Chinese hotel industry but there is still much to be done before China can become the world's top tourist destination, according to Dr Kam Hung of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In a recently published research article, Dr Hung identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with the hotel industry from the perspective of Chinese hoteliers. Her findings will provide the government with a better understanding of the issues that need to be tackled so that a strategic plan can be developed to direct future activities and improve performance.
Working with more than 40 Chinese hoteliers, Prof. Kam Hung from Hong Kong Polytechnic University developed a SWOT analysis of the Chinese hotel industry, as seen by its insiders. The results were fascinating – and, she says, they point to a need for more planning.
WTTC today announced that Paul Williams of Stafford, United Kingdom, is the winner of its competition for the social media user who "made the most professional contribution to the news coverage of the WTTC Asia Summit", which took place in Seoul Korea, 10- 11 September 2013. The prize is an expenses paid trip, to report in person on the WTTC Global Summit 2014 – to take place Hainan, People's Republic of China, 24-25 April 2014.
In an industry so heavily reliant on talent, evolving technology, consumer trends, and where change is the norm, the Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Education and Research (IHTER), a division of the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Florida International University (FIU) set its sights on addressing key issues faced by the hospitality industry with the launch of the Visionary Leaders Forum in Singapore.
Hotel location has a significant effect on how tourists move around a destination, according to a research paper published by Professor Bob McKercher of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, graduate student Erica Ng and two co-authors. Using data collected in Hong Kong from global positioning system (GPS) loggers, the researchers show that "hotel location has a profound impact on tourist movements". The tourists tracked spent most of their time "in the immediate vicinity of the hotel", which has significant implications for tourism industry stakeholders.
A United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Knowledge Network Symposium and a UNWTO TedQual Information Seminar will be held on 16-17 November 2013 at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.