Hong Kong-based luxury hotel group Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and Malaysian property developer S P Setia Berhad Group signed a management agreement for Shangri-La to operate the planned luxury development in Melbourne’s CBD.
At 308 Exhibition Street, the two-tower development was designed by Cox and Fender Katsalidis, and will be loacted near Melbourne’s World Heritage-listed Carlton Gardens.
The property is currently under consideration for planning approval. When it is completed in 2022, the Shangri-La Hotel, Melbourne will have an estimated 500 guestrooms with three floors of amenities, including a sky lobby, restaurants, a spa, a fitness center, a pool and a ballroom.
The second tower will include about 300 luxury residential apartments and office space.
A sky bridge will connect the two towers, and retail space will be in the lower floors of the development.
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid, chairman of S P Setia, said that Shangri-La supported the project’s vision to provide development that increases capacity, creates local economic development opportunities and sets a new benchmark for five-star luxury in Melbourne.
Through the design and construction phases and for many decades to come as a luxury residence, retail and hotel precinct, the economic benefits of this project will be significant for Melbourne, Zahid said in a statement.
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently operates over 95 hotels in 22 countries and 73 destinations under the Shangri-La, Kerry, Hotel Jen and Traders brands.
Primarily operating in Asia, the group has established its brand over four decades in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, North America and the Indian Ocean.
The group has upcoming projects in Australia, mainland China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka.
Launched in 1974, S P Setia's portfolio includes townships, eco-sanctuaries, luxury enclaves, high-rise residences, commercial and retail developments.
The group is established in the three economic centers of Malaysia, namely Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang. It also has a project in Sabah.
Its international reach now includes five countries which are Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, China and the United Kingdom.
As of March 31, 2017, the group has 30 ongoing projects, with a stake of 5,141 acres in undeveloped land banks remaining and about $11.1 trillion in gross development value.
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Showing posts with label Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. Show all posts
Sunday, 16 July 2017
CHINA: Shangri-La Hotel Putian To Open 2020 In Fujian Province
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts announced the development of a new urban resort in Fujian Province at a groundbreaking ceremony in the Chengxiang District of Putian, scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2020, Shangri-La Hotel, Putian will be the group’s third property in Fujian Province, following Shangri-La hotels in Fuzhou and Xiamen.
Renowned for being the origin of Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea in Chinese culture, Putian is a well-known cultural city with a history of more than 1,400 years. It has distinctive advantages of coastal scenery and cultural tourism resources.
In recent years, Putian has successfully diversified its economy.
As an important manufacturing centre on China’s Southeast Coast, the city is being transformed and upgraded, resulting in a new level of innovation and growth.
Real estate and tourism developments are flourishing, while cultural and creative industries are being explored as new directions.
Dedicated to bringing a new international, luxurious hospitality experience to the city, Shangri-La Hotel, Putian will have 247 well-appointed guest rooms offering panoramic views of the city and Yanshou river.
The hotel will include a lobby lounge, restaurants, spa, fitness centre, swimming pool and a 1,200-square-metre ballroom.
Next to the hotel will be a lively mix of restaurants, bars and retail shops set in a 3,500-square-metre village-style plaza.
The hotel is conveniently located within a 20-minute drive from the train station.
Uniquely positioned at the juncture of history and modernity, Shangri-La Hotel, Putian will pay tribute to the river town’s ancient heritage as well as harmony between man and nature.
The hotel overlooks Yanshou River southward and the landmark Shouxi Park, which is one of the largest ecological city parks in Fujian Province.
The hotel is also adjacent to the renowned Yanshou Village, where the millennium-old Yanshou Bridge, a 900-year-old litchi tree (“The Champion Red”) and a collection of antique temples and ancestral halls are found.
The entire area will be protected and developed into a folk culture village by the local government to create a destination for leisure, recreation, culture and tourism.
Shangri-La Asia Chief Executive Officer Mr. LIM Beng Chee said, Putian has remarkable economic potential for both business and tourism, which presents a great opportunity for the goup. The design and construction of Shangri-La Hotel, Putian will reflect a distinctive blend of nature and culture. We look forward to creating a unique dining and stay experience for guests and local residents, and to bringing a dynamic lifestyle experience to the city.
Tourism Observer
www.tourismobserver.com
Renowned for being the origin of Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea in Chinese culture, Putian is a well-known cultural city with a history of more than 1,400 years. It has distinctive advantages of coastal scenery and cultural tourism resources.
In recent years, Putian has successfully diversified its economy.
As an important manufacturing centre on China’s Southeast Coast, the city is being transformed and upgraded, resulting in a new level of innovation and growth.
Real estate and tourism developments are flourishing, while cultural and creative industries are being explored as new directions.
Dedicated to bringing a new international, luxurious hospitality experience to the city, Shangri-La Hotel, Putian will have 247 well-appointed guest rooms offering panoramic views of the city and Yanshou river.
The hotel will include a lobby lounge, restaurants, spa, fitness centre, swimming pool and a 1,200-square-metre ballroom.
Next to the hotel will be a lively mix of restaurants, bars and retail shops set in a 3,500-square-metre village-style plaza.
The hotel is conveniently located within a 20-minute drive from the train station.
Uniquely positioned at the juncture of history and modernity, Shangri-La Hotel, Putian will pay tribute to the river town’s ancient heritage as well as harmony between man and nature.
The hotel overlooks Yanshou River southward and the landmark Shouxi Park, which is one of the largest ecological city parks in Fujian Province.
The hotel is also adjacent to the renowned Yanshou Village, where the millennium-old Yanshou Bridge, a 900-year-old litchi tree (“The Champion Red”) and a collection of antique temples and ancestral halls are found.
The entire area will be protected and developed into a folk culture village by the local government to create a destination for leisure, recreation, culture and tourism.
Shangri-La Asia Chief Executive Officer Mr. LIM Beng Chee said, Putian has remarkable economic potential for both business and tourism, which presents a great opportunity for the goup. The design and construction of Shangri-La Hotel, Putian will reflect a distinctive blend of nature and culture. We look forward to creating a unique dining and stay experience for guests and local residents, and to bringing a dynamic lifestyle experience to the city.
Tourism Observer
www.tourismobserver.com
Monday, 21 November 2016
NEPAL: Nepal’s Tourism Industry Doing Better
The best time to visit Nepal is now. Autumn (September- November) is considered the most pleasant time to visit Nepal. The weather is favourable and the mountains are visible at this time of the year. This season is known as the high tourist season or peak season for tourist arrival.
However, this year even in the peak season tourism entrepreneurs and hoteliers are not very optimistic about the footfall. Accessible air connectivity, affordable air fares, construction of proper road network and electricity are the pre-requisites which are still major challenges to overcome for tourism development. Unless these requirements are met the industry cannot move forward. Likewise, right promotional activities in the right markets are essential.
In this high season for the tourism industry, Nepal Airlines’ aircraft suffered a tyre burst and the Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) runway was closed for a while. And, this was just at the start of the high season. TIA has developed cracks and potholes and there are several technical glitches in national aircrafts. The airport itself is overstretched with more tourist arrival expected. Incidents such unruly setup disseminates a negative image of the country and its infrastructure and has a direct impact on the tourism industry .
“For the past 28 years Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has not invested in a single aircraft. This is the root cause of the problems that we are facing at present,” claims Sugat Ratna Kansakar, Managing Director of NAC. “It is a fact that a country that has a strong national carrier, attracts higher number of tourists. For instance, Spain, France, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have enough investment in aircrafts and as a result their tourism industry is developed,” he says.
According to him, NAC is now focussing on expansion strategy and improvement of management issues in parallel. He adds, “NAC will procure two wide body aircraft in the next two years and will increase the destinations accordingly.” He feels that there is no alternative to expanding the fleet as that will also impact air fares. “Airfare to Kathmandu is expensive compared to other destinations such as Thailand or even cities like Jaipur in India. How can we expect high number of tourists with such high airfares?” he questions.
“It is true, that September to November is the traditional high tourist season but our tourism sector has not effectively recovered from the repercussions of the massive earthquake followed by the economic blockade in 2015,” says Ashok Pokharel, President of Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO). “We are as prepared as we were in 2014 to attract tourists. However, we have failed to make the leap to ‘2017 and beyond’ preparedness.” He feels that in the coming days the industry will observe the same lackadaisical destination promotion patterns, similar tourist profiles, severe price competition, mushrooming of illegal operators and unhappy tourists which will make things worse.
“In this corresponding period in 2014 we had witnessed overbooking,” says Raju Bikram Shah, Group General Manager, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. However, according to him, this year the booking will not exceed 90 per cent.
“The guests who have booked into hotels and resorts now are not here for travel purposes; they’re here on business,” he mentions.
This shows that Nepal might be losing its sheen as a travel destination. According to him, the occupancy in Kathmandu is better than that in Pokhara. “Pokhara is yet to recover from last year’s lull. The occupancy rate there is hardly 70 per cent,” he informs.
Forbes magazine listed Pokhara as the cheapest destination to travel to stating that USD 15.84 per day is enough to stay there. For those who like ‘cheap’ destinations this is, indeed, good news according to entrepreneurs. However, ‘high yield’ tourists do not appreciate spending their money on ‘cheap destinations’.
They are willing to pay good money but want good value in return. Tourism entrepreneurs are aware of the fact that ‘cheap’ destinations unfortunately drag themselves down and sometimes take the industry with them.
“A price war exists and is primarily propagated by illegal operators who are either unlicensed or do not pay taxes or those who are in the business with the clear intention of defaulting on their debts to suppliers like hotels, domestic airlines and transport suppliers,” Pokharel claims.
This uneven playing field is harming the capacity of the national economy to absorb whatever taxes were going to come as these operators neither pay VAT or income tax or any other taxes, according to Pokharel. According to him there exist these illegal operators. They are surely siphoning the money off into the ‘alternative economy’.
The authorities are also aware of this rampant discrepancy but has done little to curb it. Therefore, price based unhealthy competition in the industry is eating it from the inside and destroying whatever little chance there is for it to recover.
While NTB is trying to promote Nepal in different markets through various strategies, clear and ambitious goals need to be set with greater participation and involvement of all stakeholders. “Tourism is on the right path to recovery. We expect that this year the tourist arrivals will reach up to 700,000,” says Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board. According to him, NTB is trying its best to reach new markets through digital platforms, partnerships with NRNs and road shows in different destinations.
According to him, they are marketing in Gulf countries as the youth in those countries have increased interests in adventure tourism.
According to tourism entrepreneurs, one of the major challenges is the lack of clear vision and mission on the part of the government. The government must formulate, in consultation with the private sector and other players, a clear and pragmatic vision backed by a mission for the tourism industry. This must be something which should not be tweaked or changed every time the government changes, they point out.
“Our habits and past history have shown that we pull targets out of thin air. For instance, one minister wanted a million tourists but had no idea how; another wanted to re-brand but, didn’t know what a branding exercise entails,” says Pokharel. “And thus the delivery of those targets cannot be achieved because the targets have not been thought through. The intentions may have been good but we must remember that the path to hell is also littered with good intentions,” he adds.
Deepak Raj Joshi CEO, Nepal Tourism Board says “Tourism is on the right path to recovery. We expect that this year the tourist arrivals will reach up to 700,000”
“For the past 28 years Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has not invested in a single aircraft. This is the root cause of the problems that we are facing at present”
“Our habits and past history have shown that we pull targets out of thin air. For instance, one minister wanted a million tourists but had no idea how”
However, this year even in the peak season tourism entrepreneurs and hoteliers are not very optimistic about the footfall. Accessible air connectivity, affordable air fares, construction of proper road network and electricity are the pre-requisites which are still major challenges to overcome for tourism development. Unless these requirements are met the industry cannot move forward. Likewise, right promotional activities in the right markets are essential.
In this high season for the tourism industry, Nepal Airlines’ aircraft suffered a tyre burst and the Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) runway was closed for a while. And, this was just at the start of the high season. TIA has developed cracks and potholes and there are several technical glitches in national aircrafts. The airport itself is overstretched with more tourist arrival expected. Incidents such unruly setup disseminates a negative image of the country and its infrastructure and has a direct impact on the tourism industry .
“For the past 28 years Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has not invested in a single aircraft. This is the root cause of the problems that we are facing at present,” claims Sugat Ratna Kansakar, Managing Director of NAC. “It is a fact that a country that has a strong national carrier, attracts higher number of tourists. For instance, Spain, France, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have enough investment in aircrafts and as a result their tourism industry is developed,” he says.
According to him, NAC is now focussing on expansion strategy and improvement of management issues in parallel. He adds, “NAC will procure two wide body aircraft in the next two years and will increase the destinations accordingly.” He feels that there is no alternative to expanding the fleet as that will also impact air fares. “Airfare to Kathmandu is expensive compared to other destinations such as Thailand or even cities like Jaipur in India. How can we expect high number of tourists with such high airfares?” he questions.
“It is true, that September to November is the traditional high tourist season but our tourism sector has not effectively recovered from the repercussions of the massive earthquake followed by the economic blockade in 2015,” says Ashok Pokharel, President of Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO). “We are as prepared as we were in 2014 to attract tourists. However, we have failed to make the leap to ‘2017 and beyond’ preparedness.” He feels that in the coming days the industry will observe the same lackadaisical destination promotion patterns, similar tourist profiles, severe price competition, mushrooming of illegal operators and unhappy tourists which will make things worse.
“In this corresponding period in 2014 we had witnessed overbooking,” says Raju Bikram Shah, Group General Manager, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. However, according to him, this year the booking will not exceed 90 per cent.
“The guests who have booked into hotels and resorts now are not here for travel purposes; they’re here on business,” he mentions.
This shows that Nepal might be losing its sheen as a travel destination. According to him, the occupancy in Kathmandu is better than that in Pokhara. “Pokhara is yet to recover from last year’s lull. The occupancy rate there is hardly 70 per cent,” he informs.
Forbes magazine listed Pokhara as the cheapest destination to travel to stating that USD 15.84 per day is enough to stay there. For those who like ‘cheap’ destinations this is, indeed, good news according to entrepreneurs. However, ‘high yield’ tourists do not appreciate spending their money on ‘cheap destinations’.
They are willing to pay good money but want good value in return. Tourism entrepreneurs are aware of the fact that ‘cheap’ destinations unfortunately drag themselves down and sometimes take the industry with them.
“A price war exists and is primarily propagated by illegal operators who are either unlicensed or do not pay taxes or those who are in the business with the clear intention of defaulting on their debts to suppliers like hotels, domestic airlines and transport suppliers,” Pokharel claims.
This uneven playing field is harming the capacity of the national economy to absorb whatever taxes were going to come as these operators neither pay VAT or income tax or any other taxes, according to Pokharel. According to him there exist these illegal operators. They are surely siphoning the money off into the ‘alternative economy’.
The authorities are also aware of this rampant discrepancy but has done little to curb it. Therefore, price based unhealthy competition in the industry is eating it from the inside and destroying whatever little chance there is for it to recover.
While NTB is trying to promote Nepal in different markets through various strategies, clear and ambitious goals need to be set with greater participation and involvement of all stakeholders. “Tourism is on the right path to recovery. We expect that this year the tourist arrivals will reach up to 700,000,” says Deepak Raj Joshi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board. According to him, NTB is trying its best to reach new markets through digital platforms, partnerships with NRNs and road shows in different destinations.
According to him, they are marketing in Gulf countries as the youth in those countries have increased interests in adventure tourism.
According to tourism entrepreneurs, one of the major challenges is the lack of clear vision and mission on the part of the government. The government must formulate, in consultation with the private sector and other players, a clear and pragmatic vision backed by a mission for the tourism industry. This must be something which should not be tweaked or changed every time the government changes, they point out.
“Our habits and past history have shown that we pull targets out of thin air. For instance, one minister wanted a million tourists but had no idea how; another wanted to re-brand but, didn’t know what a branding exercise entails,” says Pokharel. “And thus the delivery of those targets cannot be achieved because the targets have not been thought through. The intentions may have been good but we must remember that the path to hell is also littered with good intentions,” he adds.
Deepak Raj Joshi CEO, Nepal Tourism Board says “Tourism is on the right path to recovery. We expect that this year the tourist arrivals will reach up to 700,000”
“For the past 28 years Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has not invested in a single aircraft. This is the root cause of the problems that we are facing at present”
“Our habits and past history have shown that we pull targets out of thin air. For instance, one minister wanted a million tourists but had no idea how”
Tuesday, 16 February 2016
CHINA: Shangri-La Opens Latest China Hotel
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has opened its latest hotel in China in Hefei.
The 27-storey hotel is centrally located on Suixi Road and to both the commercial area and leisure attractions of Hefei, a city founded as a county seat in the Qin Dynasty between the Yangtze River and the freshwater Chaohu Lake.
The group said the property, which has 401 rooms, is a new landmark in the city.
High-tech touches include free Wi-Fi and paperless check-in.
Situated on the highest floors of Shangri-La Hotel, Hefei are spacious Executive and Speciality Suites.
Alongside their panoramic views, suite and Horizon Club guests can enjoy extra privileges at the Horizon Club Lounge on level 27 of the hotel including express check-in and check-out, complimentary breakfast buffet, all-day refreshments and evening cocktails, and full concierge service.
An introductory rate of RMB550 per night, plus 15% service charge, is available until 7 October 2015.
This includes accommodation in a Deluxe Room, dining credit and triple Golden Circle Award Points for Shangri-La's Golden Circle members.
The 27-storey hotel is centrally located on Suixi Road and to both the commercial area and leisure attractions of Hefei, a city founded as a county seat in the Qin Dynasty between the Yangtze River and the freshwater Chaohu Lake.
The group said the property, which has 401 rooms, is a new landmark in the city.
High-tech touches include free Wi-Fi and paperless check-in.
Situated on the highest floors of Shangri-La Hotel, Hefei are spacious Executive and Speciality Suites.
Alongside their panoramic views, suite and Horizon Club guests can enjoy extra privileges at the Horizon Club Lounge on level 27 of the hotel including express check-in and check-out, complimentary breakfast buffet, all-day refreshments and evening cocktails, and full concierge service.
An introductory rate of RMB550 per night, plus 15% service charge, is available until 7 October 2015.
This includes accommodation in a Deluxe Room, dining credit and triple Golden Circle Award Points for Shangri-La's Golden Circle members.
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