Vietnam Sees 41% YoY International Visitor Bump Over First 10 Months

Vietnam’s tourism sector welcomed over 14.1 million international tourists in the first 10 months of 2024, up more than 41% on a year on year basis. October saw international arrivals reach 1.42 million, up 27.6% from October 2023. Air travel has accounted for 84.8% of total tourist arrivals so far in 2024. Travels from Asian markets contributed nearly 80% of total arrivals with the Republic of Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan accounting for close to 60% of the total visitors. 3.7 million South Koreans visited in the first 10 months of this year.

The number of visitors to Macau exceeded 30 million this year, as of noon on Sunday. In 2023, the total visitation was 28.25 million. The average number of daily arrivals so far in 2024 is about 95,000, up 27% year over year and at 87% of the pre-pandemic level from 2019. Mainland Chinese visitors continue to make up the bulk at 70%. That is up 33% from last year. The Macao Government Tourism Office expects total visitation this year to reach 33 million with 2 million of them being international visitors. The Macau Grand Prix will be taking place this Thursday to Sunday, shortened from last year’s two weeks to one. Macau tourism authorities expect over 400,000 visitor arrivals with hotel occupancy rates expected to exceed 90% during the event.

Mirae Asset Management will speed up the sale of Shilla Stay Dongtan, selecting Evison South Korea and Seville Korea, affiliated with ZenStarmate, as the organizers of the sale. Shilla Stay Dongtan is the first of a new business hotel brand of Hotel Shilla, opened in 2013. The sale is expected to be more than 110 billion won. The hotel has 286 rooms with two basement floors and 29 floors above ground and a total floor area of 24,408 square meters.

Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd and Mitsui Fudosan Resort Management Co. Ltd. will open HOTEL THE MITSUI HAKONE in Hakone, Japan in 2026. The new, 126-room property will be located in Hakone’s premier hot spring resort area on more than 33 acres within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. This is the new development under the luxury hotel brand HOTEL THE MITSUI followed in the 2020 opening of HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO. The planned site of the new hotel, located in Koawkudani, offers a hot spring with all guest rooms to draw water directly from on-site sources. The guest rooms will average approximately 60 square meters with larger villas and a Presidential Suite. Dining options will include an all-day dining and a specialty restaurant and include a bar. Besides the thermal springs, there will also be a gym and additional amenities. Construction began in July. The hotel will be managed by Mitsui Fudosan Resort Management Co., Ltd. The hotel will be in partnership with Marriott International’s Luxury Collection.

A three-story, red brick property on what is now Glover Street, in the Japanese city’s Minami-Yamatemachi district, originally used by a Catholic monastic order and a former orphanage, will be opening as a hotel in December. Following extensive renovations, the Hotel Indigo Nagasaki Glover Street will open on December 13th. The original building dates back to 1898. It was acquired by hotel operator Mori Trust Co. in 2019. The refurbishment work required the Western-style building’s external appearance, along with cobblestones around it, to be preserved. A deconsecrated church that includes stained glass windows was converted into a restaurant. The refurbished structure will have 66 guest rooms.

Santika Indonesia Hotels and Resorts entered a partnership with the Janto Group to establish a new Kampi Hotel in Gandaria, Jakarta. The investment value will be around US$16 million, according to Janto. They chose Santika Indonesia Group’s owner, PT Grahawita Santika, as a partner due to its long-standing track record in the hotel industry. They expect the development to take two years, at the latest to be completed by the beginning of the second quarter of 2027. The hotel will be built on a 2,200 square meter area. The location was said to be chosen due to its lively surroundings with a diverse range of options for food and drink, lifestyle venues, and retail, all aimed at attracting millennial and Gen Z consumers.

Luxury Peak, a subsidiary of Hotel Properties Ltd. has purchased Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall Singapore for S$821 million. The property is located at 100 Orchard Road and includes a 407-room hotel and a three-story retail podium. It was first put up for sale in September at a price of S$820 million. Savills Singapore acted as the exclusive marketing agent with Rajah & Tann acting for the vendors. Savills said this is the fourth major collective sale along the Orchard Road corridor brokered by them.

DCF Property Group and Yoo Studio celebrated the official sod-turning for its $180 million First Light development, a project set to redefine Melbourne’s Domain Precinct. The ceremony marks the beginning of construction on the world-class branded residences. Nu by Yoo Melbourne is being described by La Vie Hotels and Resorts as not just another hotel but a fresh chapter in luxury design and hotel experience in Australia’s most vibrant city. The Nu by YOO luxury hotel will be managed by La Vie, proposed to sit within the First Light development. The hotel will feature 97 luxury rooms with a well-known signature Food and Beverage partner. This will join the existing La Vie projects of Forest by YOO which will be 131 branded residences and an additional 432-room YOO2 Hotel La Vie managed complex in Patong, Phuket Thailand. First Light is due for completion in October 2026 with the hotel to begin operations shortly thereafter.

Accor signed an agreement to introduce Novotel Tirupati and ibis Styles Tirupati, a new dual-brand hotel project in the spiritual city of Tirupati, India. The extensive 350-room complex is being developed by Shravanthi Hotels & Resorts Private Limited. The new hotel cluster will offer 180 rooms at Novotel Tirupati and 170 rooms at ibis Styles Tirupati. The hotels will feature a wide range of amenities including two all-day dining restaurants, a specialty restaurant, two bars, a shared lobby café, and bar. Other amenities include a fitness center, swimming pool, and over 1,000 square meters of adaptable meeting and banquet spaces.

DoubleDragon Corp. is targeting to conquer the entire United States with its homegrown Filipino hotel chain, according to the Philippine Star. The company told The Star that Hotel101 is envisioned to be in all 50 states in the U.S. over the long term. Hotel101 Global Pte. Ltd., the Singapore-headquartered subsidiary of DoubleDragon, is currently building the first Hotel101 in the U.S. in Los Angeles, California. Hotel101 Los Angeles, California is expected to be completed in time for the 2028 Olympics. On top of its expansion, Hotel101 Global is currently in the process of its U.S. listing, which is expected to take place this fourth quarter, and will become the first Filipino company to list in the U.S. via a SPAC.