The Japan National Tourism Organization said the number of foreign visitors for business and leisure was 2.79 million in February, up from January despite a shorter month. Arrivals were up 7.1% from February 2019. The February 2024 arrivals were a new record for the month and the most for any month since the pandemic.
Marriott International announced it signed an agreement with Hainan Qianrui Industrial Development Co. Ltd. to bring the W Hotels brand to Sanya, located on China’s southerly island province of Hainan. W Sanya will be in Sanya Bay and is expected to open in the second quarter of 2028. W Sanya will be an avant-garde 15 story building with a rooftop terrace. The hotel will offer 260 rooms and suites with over half of the rooms featuring uninterrupted ocean views. There will be an outdoor infinity pool against a skyline backdrop, four signature restaurants and bars, the WET deck and swimming pool, FIT fitness center and the AWAY Spa. The hotel is also set to offer comprehensive venues and facilities for conference and events with 1,533 square meters of multi-functional space. Marriott operates nearly 70 luxury hotels in Greater China, six of which are in Hainan.
Prestige Estates Project is said to be on the verge of partnering with Marriott to develop six new properties across the western and southern regions of South Asia, marking a significant expansion in their hospitality footprint. The collaboration is expected to include the introduction of the first Autograph Collection hotel in Goa. The proposed properties will total 801 keys and will span across Bengaluru, Goa and Sakleshpur. The development includes a 130 room hotel under the Moxy brand which would only be the second Moxy in India, the first opening this past January. Other brands will include Tribute and JW Marriott with the Tribute in Goa and JW in Karnataka’s Sakleshpur plantation.
Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels said they are unsure when they will be able to resume their $130 million project in Yangon in Myanmar. The project stalled after the military topped the incoming democratically elected government three years ago. HK and Shanghai said it agreed with local partners to complete some basic groundwork ahead of the project’s resumption but gave no timeframe. The hotel project in Yangon is a joint venture with Myanmar’s tycoon Serge Pun’s Yoma Group which comprises Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings and Yangon-listed First Myanmar Investment. Hongkong and Shanghai owns 70% of the JV with the rest held by the Yoma side. The planned 88 room hotel was part of plans to redevelop the former colonial-era Myanmar Railway headquarters in the heart of the country’s old capital. The project kicked off in 2014 and was supposed to have been completed in 2022. Yoma had said in November they were ready to resume construction of the Yoma Central project but the situation in Myanmar has not improved at all.
Hilton announced the opening of Hilton Saigon in the financial and residential hub of Ho Chi Minh City. This marks the debut of the flagship brand, and first hotel, in the city. The hotel is located just 30 minutes from the Tan Son Nhat Airport, surrounded by cultural sites and historical landmarks. Hilton Saigon has 228 guest rooms and suites and includes one of the largest convention facilities in the city, featuring 1,054 square meters of event space. The pillarless Grand Ballroom can accommodate up to 320 guests for weddings and 550 guests for conferences while smaller meetings can be held in any of the nine meeting rooms ranging from 52 to 495 square meters. Other amenities include the eforea Spa, swimming pool, fitness center while there is an Executive Lounge for guests staying in Suites and Executive rooms. The hotel features four dining concepts. Hilton Saigon joins a portfolio of 14 trading and pipeline hotels in Vietnam for Hilton.
The former Pullman Nadi Bay Resort & Spa Fiji is now the Crowne Plaza Fiji. This is IHG Hotels & Resorts’ first ‘Premium Collection’ brand to open in the South Pacific and helps fill the need for hotel rooms. At last year’s Fiji Tourism Expo, the CEO of Tourism Fiji said the country needed 4,000 to 5,000 rooms to meet demand. For the first phase of the opening of the Crowne Plaza Fiji, 106 guest rooms were ready to be booked. From mid-2024 there will be another 130 rooms rolled out while the final 88 guest rooms and suites will be available by the end of 2024, for a total of 324 rooms. That will include 66 two bedroom family rooms and the crown jewels of the property, 16 Oceanfront King Suites. The resort is located a Wailoaloa Beach in Nadi Bay, just 5km from Nadi International Airport. The resort’s makeover will feature a day spa with six double treatment rooms, seven swimming pools, 10 restaurants and bars including a nightclub, a beach club with an infinity pool and a whisky bar. There will also be a 900 seat convention center. Mareqeti Spa and the Fitness Center are open but in temporary locations while the new sites are finalized. The resort also plans to introduce a retail precinct and Tutuvalu Kids Club by mid-2024.
Oberoi Group is working on a new hotel concept for small hotels close to nature. The new concept may someday help support the group’s push to double its overall room count by 2030. The company detailed this during the CEO’s presentation at the Skift India Summit 2024. You can read the full story at Skift, where DLR subscribers have free access to this story.
Radisson Hotel Group will introduce its first brand to Auckland, New Zealand with the Radisson RED, located in the heart of Queen Street. The purpose-built 322 key Radisson RED Auckland will offer stylish spaces with designs where guests can feel inspired, engaged and connected to the heart of the destination. It will include room choices from Standard Rooms to two bedroom suites. There will be an all-day dining restaurant, wellness facility as well as four function rooms for meetings and events. The hotel forms an integral component of a mixed-use commercial development, incorporating dining establishments including a rooftop specialty restaurant and retail outlets.
Personnel Move
Radisson Hotel Group also announced it appointed Nikhil Sharma as the Managing Director and Area Senior Vice President for South Asia, effective April 1, 2024. Sharma will lead RHG’s operations in the South Asia region which includes over 165 hotels in operation and development. Sharma is joining Radisson from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts where he served as Market Managing Director Eurasia.
