Tokyo and Bangkok Tourism Numbers Are Rebounding

STR reported China hotel RevPAR for the week ended December 17. Hotel RevPAR was down -1.1% year over year for the week. Compared with the same week in 2019, hotel RevPAR was down -31.7%. Absolute occupancy for the week in China was 50.9%. That compares with 49.5% during the comparable week in 2021.

Japan National Tourism Organization said visitor arrivals rose to close to one million in November. This was the first full month after the country ended their Covid-19 curbs. While the 934,500 arrivals in November was nearly double the October number, it was still down close to two-thirds of what it was in November 2019.

ZAZZ Urban Bangkok, an alternative contemporary boutique hotel in the heart of Bangkok, returned to full service recently. They are banking on the government and consultants being right on their predictions, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand predicting the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand will be more than 18 million last year and CBRE saying the Asia Pacific hotel industry will recover to the pre-Covid level by 2024. ZAZZ Urban Bangkok’s main customers are tourists from Singapore, China, Malaysia, Japan, Korea and Thailand. They currently are averaging an occupancy rate of about 60% in their 48 modern rooms and suites. The hotel on Rama 9 Road includes private meeting rooms, fitness room and co-working space with full facilities. ZAZZ Hotels & Resorts currently has three hotels with the other two in Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and Siem Reap in Cambodia. They are raising financing to prepare for the construction of a new hotel, ZAZZ Escape Maldives.

Central Pattana is set to launch Marche Thonglor, the biggest fully-integrated mixed-use lifestyle destination in the heart of Thonglor in Bangkok. The project, worth over 2 billion baht, is expected to be fully ready for service in March 2023. The new project is expected to bring more than 50 restaurants, drinking establishments and the best sky bar in Thonglor. Central Pattana is considered Thailand’s top company in sustainable real estate development and developer of Central shopping centers, residential projects, office buildings and hotels across Thailand. The Marche Thonglor project will span 60,000 square meters and is a joint venture of Central Pattana. Thonglor has 10 five-star hotels with more than 2,700 keys and luxury condominiums priced at 290,000 baht/m2, primed to accommodate tourists and people with high purchasing power. The Marche Thonglor project comprises the Podium and Tower areas. The Podium area is a five-story community mall with 13,600 square meters of floor area in total. The Tower area is a 12-story office building.

In India, a state cabinet granted the consortium of New Consolidated Construction Co Ltd., Maiwir Engineering Pvt Ltd. and OCTMEC Consultants LLP approval to construct a long-awaited convention center in Goa, at Dona Paula on a Public-Private Partnership basis. The convention center will have a 300-room, five-star hotel.

Goldi Sands Hotel, one of the first star-class hotels in Negombo, Sri Lanka opened in 1974. The hotel has invested Rs 900 million to build and open their new wing adjoining the existing hotel. The new extension was opened to cater to the influx of tourists to the country. The extension includes 65 new rooms, made up of 60 deluxe luxury rooms and five junior suites, increasing the total capacity to 131 rooms. The 900 million rupee investment for the new wing also includes a new swimming pool, a restaurant, and a state-of-the-art gym. With the new extension, Goldi Sands Hotel now has two swimming pools, two main restaurants, a spa, a pool bar, a main bar, a scenic garden and a beachfront. The hotel has two conference halls. The main hotel also went through a major refurbishment, completed in 2015. The hotel had been closed over six months for the Rs 250 million investment. The Goldi Sands Negombo first wing now comprises 56 standard and 8 economy rooms. The hotel group also owns and operates Suriya Resort & Spa in Waikiki.

Hilton is expecting to grow its portfolio to more than 75 hotels in Saudi Arabia in the coming years to cater to the kingdom’s growing travel and tourism market. They signed a partnership with the Saudi Tourism Development Fund and other private and public developers to support its expansion of multiple brands in the kingdom. Hilton currently operates 16 hotels in the Kingdom with another 46 under development. Their plans include the introduction of new brands such as LXR Hotels & Resorts, Curio Collection by Hilton, Embassy Suites by Hilton and Motto by Hilton. TDF and Hilton signed an MoU to develop family-friendly leisure destinations across several Saudi locations with the destinations expected to have one or more Hilton brands.

Marriott International previously announced Delta Hotels by Marriott opened its 100th property – Delta Hotels by Marriott, Dubai Investment Park. Delta Hotels by Marriott now has two properties in Dubai and three overall in the Middle East. The new Delta Hotels by Marriott, Dubai Investment Park features 248 guest rooms and suites, an outdoor swimming pool, spa and a state-of-the-art fitness center. The property also includes Masian Restaurant & Bar, The Hub and a Pool Bar. Grab & Go and Delta Pantry are two of the brand’s global signatures and are also featured. Marriott said the Delta Hotels brand is expected to add nearly 30 more hotels to the portfolio before year end. This includes more than 20 properties in the UK, from Edinburgh to Liverpool, and a collection of Golf & Country Clubs, significantly expanding its footprint in the region. Looking ahead to 2023, Delta Hotels by Marriott plans to make grand debuts in Naples, Italy; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and in New York City.