Hilton Garden Inn to Expand in China

The latest data from the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism indicated China as the leading source of tourists as of May 6, 2024, with 87,566 visitors, followed by Russia, the UK, Italy, Germany and India. The country celebrated the milestone of 500,000 tourist arrivals in 2024, led by China. By March 17, the Maldives had welcomed 513,377 visitors, with China contributing 60,699. Tourist arrivals from India dropped -42% in the first four months of the year compared to last year amid strained bilateral relations.  

The Macao Government Tourism Officer said the occupancy rate of the local hotels should surpass 90% by the end of this year. The current hotel occupancy rate is 85%-86%, but they expect that to rise in the second half of the year. They keep pushing international tourist arrivals, even though it has been a huge disappointment since the MGTO put a lot of faith in that, and the casinos spent a lot of money building out special foreign arrival rooms (lower gambling tax rate). The MGTO said that by the end of May of this year, the number of international tourists visiting Macau would total 978,000. That is a year-on-year increase of 1.75 times, but it is not even 67% of 2019 levels. Overall visitation in the first five months totaled some 14 million, an 82.5% recovery from 2019. Hong Kong tourism numbers have recovered the fastest, with 2.98 million visitors, a recovery rate of 97.1% of the pre-pandemic level. Mainland visitors totaled 9.90 million, which is 81% of 2019 levels.

Thailand has abandoned its plan to charge a 300 baht (US$8.20) tourism fee for air travelers. This is a move to encourage higher tourist spending and attract more international visitors. The tourism fee had initially been approved by Thailand’s former government in February 2023. It was intended to manage and develop tourism infrastructure but faced considerable opposition from the private sector. From January 1 to April 28 this year, Thailand recorded nearly 12 million international arrivals, generating 575 billion baht (US$15.5 billion) in revenue. They are aiming to attract 40 million foreign visitors in 2024.  

Radisson Hotel Group will open its first Radisson RED hotel in Bangkok in 4Q2025. The upscale hotel will be surrounded by shopping malls, bars, street food and more in the heart of Sukhumvit. The hotel will have 125 guestrooms, a fitness center, rooftop pool, and bar as well as event spaces. The hotel will be owned by Park Royal Co.  

Hilton is scheduled to open around two dozen new hotels under the Hilton Garden Inn brand in China. The next opening is expected to be at Hilton Garden Inn Beijing Yizhuang next year, but new openings are expected in Nanjing, Chengdu, Chengde and Jinan during the next 12 months. The new openings will be under the new “Hilton Garden Inn Gen A” regional prototype. Over 180 Hilton Garden Inn hotels are under construction or in preparation, with over 70 already operational. China is Hilton’s second largest market overall, with 671 properties in 220 destinations.  

Royal Classic Hotels Kandy is on the way to a major expansion drive to extend their footprint in Sri Lanka. They announced they have taken over the management of two properties in Kandy and Dambulla. The Wisdom Boutique Resort offers 11 rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, a garden, and the former store’s underground room, which has been converted into a club and bar. Wisdom Nature Resort Dambulla is the third to be added to Royal Classic’s inventory, offering 10 Super Deluxe and Deluxe rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, a 100-capacity banquet facility and outdoor sports activities in the adjoining Dambulu River. The first luxury property, Royal Classic, opened in 2019 and features 30 rooms.  

Royal Orchid, Bangalore, India-based, is aiming to expand its portfolio to 11,000 keys in two years by entering new cities in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and enhancing its presence in existing locations. The company will develop new properties across different market segments through management contracts, with some utilizing a flexible-lease revenue-sharing model. 30 to 35 new hotels could be added in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, expanding its portfolio by 2,000 rooms. Royal Orchid is transitioning from hotel ownership to an asset-light model, focusing on investing in hotels through leases and revenue-sharing arrangements. They are planning to rebrand the Regenta Inn line and expand their presence in the luxury and smart hotel segments.  

Eco Hotels and Resorts announced the opening of the 57 key ‘The Eco’ in Vadodara, Gujarat. The new hotel is part of the company’s plans to have a capacity of 500 rooms by the end of June 2024. Their vision is to operate 5,000 keys in India over the next five years and scale up to 15,000 rooms within the next 10 years. The company is looking for potential opportunities across the country and is planning to expand its eco-friendly options to the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Last month, they announced the opening of a 63-room property, The Eco Satva at Kota in Rajasthan. The company’s board gave approvals to acquire hotel properties at Amritsar, Goa, Manali, Varanasi, Noida, Khopoli, Hubil, Udaipur, Tirupati, Mysore, Chennai and Rewa under the expansion plan.  

Lemon Tree Hotels Limited announced the opening of Keys Lite by Lemon Tree Hotels, Urban Square, Udaipur. This is the ninth property of the group in Rajasthan and the third offering of the brand in the City of Lakes after the upscale Aurika, Udaipur and mid-scale Keys Select by Lemon Tree Hotels, Udaipur. The property is being operated under the franchise division of Lemon Tree Hotels. The 68-room hotel is located next to the Urban Square Mall. Thirty-four of the rooms opened as part of Phase I of the launch, with the remaining 34 to open as part of Phase II.