Analysis for Asia

Accor has confirmed that its Pullman Hotels & Resorts premium brand has formally launched in Singapore with the opening of Pullman Singapore Orchard. Located on Orchard Road, the city’s famous retail district, this modern and stylish hotel will allow guests to balance business and leisure in this vibrant destination.

Elsewhere in Singapore, Accor has confirmed the launch of the newly-rebranded Mercure Singapore Tyrwhitt, while elsewhere across Asia it has announced the first Pullman property for Phuket, a Fairmont property in Bangkok, the debut of the MGallery brand in the Philippines, and new ibis properties in Cambodia and India.

IHG Hotels & Resorts is pursuing an ambitious expansion plan in Greater China that explores popular and emerging destinations. Leveraging its global experience, deep local insights, and a rich brand portfolio, the company is positioning itself to respond to increasing domestic travel demand and welcome Chinese and international travellers alike in the new era of travel.

IHG currently has 12 brands in Greater China, with a total of more than 1,000 hotels operating or under the pipeline. This year, it will continue to expand its footprint in Greater China, covering more than 200 cities.

New insights from hotel benchmarking specialist STR shows further positive signs in the recovery of the global hotel industry, with particularly encouraging signs across the Asia Pacific region where the continued removal of restrictions has allowed properties across the region to more freely open their doors to guests.

Southeast Asia and Northeastern Asia sat at the lower end of recovery compared to other STR-defined subcontinents in terms of occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) in 2022. But, significant improvements are to be expected as the Asia Pacific region returns to normalcy.

Research by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed that within the next decade, Beijing will overtake Paris to become the world’s largest Travel and Tourism city destination.

The report, sponsored by Visa and researched in partnership with Oxford Economics, analysed key indicators such as Travel and Tourism’s contribution to GDP, employment and traveller spend.

It analysed 82 cities around the world including four major Chinese metropolises, but while long term the outlook for some Chinese cities looks positive, prolonged travel restrictions and border closures have slowed down the recovery in the short term.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Yuan Lih Construction Co, a developer that is part of Taipei-based Yuan Lih Group, have announced plans for a new luxury hotel in the heart of Taiwan’s capital.

Four Seasons Hotel Taipei will be located in the Xinyi District, directly opposite to Taipei 101, one of the most iconic skyscrapers in Asia and one of the tallest towers in the world. Construction of the new Hotel is already underway, and is anticipated to be complete in a few years’ time.

Taipei 101 is one of the top tourist attractions in the city and is home to high-end shopping, art galleries, and offices as well as the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation and other major banks and organisations.

Marriott International has confirmed plans to bring The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott Executive Apartments brands to the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou.

It currently already operates 15 hotels across eight brands in the city, including W Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Renaissance Hotels, Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, Four Points by Sheraton, Element by Westin, Courtyard by Marriott, and Fairfield by Marriott.

The Ritz-Carlton Suzhou is expected to open at the end of 2024, featuring 190 guest rooms and suites designed by Remedios Studios. This will be followed in the middle of 2025 by the Marriott Executive Apartments, a serviced apartment brand targeted to long-stay travellers.

Elsewhere in China, IHG Hotels and Resorts has outlined plans to debut its Vignette Collection in the country, while across Asia Hyatt has confirmed it will debut its Hyatt House brand in Tokyo.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has published a report on a topic that is slightly unusual: namely, the economic value of tourism to cities, taking into account its contribution to GDP and employment as well as the usual traveller ‘spend.’

The main conclusion is inescapable.

While ‘old world’ cities in Europe still top the list, as well as North American resort cities such as Orlando and Las Vegas, there is a shift in favour of Asia Pacific. Beijing, for example, is expected to more than double its tourism sector value to USD77 billion in the next 10 years, leapfrogging the current first-placed Paris.

Where actual tourist spend alone is concerned, the top two cities in 2022 were Dubai and Doha, both helped by the Soccer World Cup being played in Qatar.

Again, Asia Pacific cities are expected to overtake or challenge them in the next 10 years.

The Ascott Limited, the lodging business unit of CapitaLand Investment, is set to debut The Crest Collection – its portfolio of bespoke hotels and serviced residences that integrates heritage stories with curated hospitality experiences – in Singapore, China and Vietnam.

The Crest Collection will also continue to grow its current portfolio in France with the addition of its fifth property in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris.

To date, Ascott has secured over 1,000 units across eight properties under The Crest Collection and has more properties under the brand in the pipeline, in key travel destinations such as Jakarta, Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka and London.

European flag carrier SWISS International Air Lines has begun installing its new premium economy class on its Airbus A340-300 fleet.

The first such aircraft completed – HB-JMB – returned to service on 24-Jan-2023 and is presently being flown between Zurich and Johannesburg.

All four of SWISS’s A340s will be equipped with premium economy by Apr-2023, from when the new seating class will be bookable for the further destinations served by the aircraft.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the last month of 2022 unveiled its 13th and 14th hotel in Vietnam and ninth hotel in Phuket in Thailand as it further expanded its activities across Asia Pacific.

Vietnam and Thailand are described as “strategic markets” for the company and it plans to continue to grow its presence throughout this year and in those to come.

“We remain committed to fulfilling our mission of making hotel travel possible for all, by providing high quality hotels in sought-after destinations, catering to both business and leisure travellers alike,” says Ben Schumacher, vice president of operations South East Asia & Pacific Rim, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.