Today’s Here & There covers news from hospitality sector where Asia pacific is seen as a lucrative market, product updates from eRevMax (Rate Tiger), tourism updates about India’s FTA, Nepal’s tourism decline, Singapore Changi Airport’s all-time high traffic.

Hospitality:

• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s global upper-upscale hotel brand Sheraton is on a growth spree. Sheraton plans to open new hotels across the globe, including:
  • China: 15 hotels will be opened in next 12 months, one of every two new Sheratons will open in China. This strategic move will allow Sheraton to have 80 hotels in China by 2015
  • Africa and Middle East: 4 new hotels will be added in next 12 months
  • Brazil, Turkey: New hotels planned, but exact number is unknown at this moment
  • US: Rebranding of hotels in key areas is going to happen in the next 12 months

• Marriott International signed agreement with TCC Hotels Group to operate seven new hotels in Thailand. This move makes TCC Hotels Group as the largest owner of Marriott International Hotels in Asia Pacific. Marriott already has 12 hotels (with 3100 rooms capacity) in Thailand.

• Hotel booking transactions in Asia Pacific are estimated to reach $3.5 Billion in 2013, according to a report by Jones Land LaSalle. The report indicate that majority of investment opportunities this year will happen in Australia and Japan. India will be seen as a hot market for acquisitions.

• Dial An Exchange, a Timeshare & Vacation Ownership & Points Clubs Exchange Service, announced that the service in Thailand exceeded its expectations. DAE Thailand, which provides services to resorts and members in APAC (excluding India and China), recorded a growth of 8% in 2012.

Product Updates:

• eRevMax has refreshed its distribution / channel management product – SimpleDistribution. This product is targeted for small hotels, hostels and motels. The product now has a new user interface and its accessible from any web based browser. Following are new features added to SimpleDistribution: Update for 31 days in single click, Hot Dates, Close-out and Re-open availability, Update notification, view/update room rates and availability on multiple partner channels, dashboard improvements, view currently loaded rates, manage important dates.

• US travel insurance comparison service provider SquareMouth has added Allianz Global Assistance to its travel insurance providers list.

Tourism:

• For the first time in three years, Nepal witnessed a 16% decline in inbound tourists in January 2013.

• Malaysia reported a 1.3% increase in foreign tourists in 2012 (compared to 2011). The number of foreign tourists visited Malaysia in 2012 was 25 million.

• Indian government is considering to relax the rules of transit visa for tourists. The government is proposing a transit visa for 48 to 72 hours, this visa process will be experimented in Delhi and Mumbai. This is indeed a good move, because the FTA (Foreign Tourist Arrivals) increased by 5.4% in 2012, compared to 2011. Also, India’s foreign exchange earnings from tourism has increased by 21.8% in 2012 compared to 2011, earnings for 2012 stands at Rs 94.5 Crore (USD 19 million).

• In 2009, Indian government decriminalised homosexuality. Now in 2013, Delhi, the capital of India is turning out as the fast emerging preferred tourist destination for international LGBT travellers.

• According to a report by nation.lk, for Chinese tourists, Srilanka has been one of their favorite destinations. Srilanka noticed a 58% increase in Chinese tourists in 2012. The nation’s air carrier and its usage of social media has also contributed to this growth.

• Singapore’s Changi Airport recorded an all-time high (in 31 years history) passenger traffic of 51.2 million in 2012.

Awards:

• Jack Lucas, President of TicketsWest and WestCoast Entertainment and VP of Entertainment for Red Lion Hotels Corporation won Lifetime Achievement Award from the 34th International Ticketing Association Annual Conference that was held at Buena Vista, Florida. This award is presented to members who have been actively engaged in the direct management of a ticket operation for a minimum of twenty years, have made a major contribution to the ticketing industry by helping to set standards of excellence in all aspects of ticket management, and have been actively involved in the continuing development and organization of INTIX.

• The 21th edition of North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) announced the winners of 2012 NATJA Awards. The awards were given to photographers, publications, travel writers who work in electronic / print media. Also, awards were given to PR agencies, DMOs. Award winners: Virtuoso Life, Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Catherine Karnow and David Noyes, Andrew McCarthy.

• In the 10th year of Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) event that held last week, Cedar Hames, CEO and Chief Strategy Officer of Paradise Communications has been named as one of the Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Marketing Worldwide. Previous award winners include Sir Richard Branson, Conrad Hilton, Bill Marriott.

• Faro Logistics bagged the “Top 3PL Award Winner” title by Warehousingandfulfillment.com. This title is given to a select group of 3PL (third party logistics) companies in the US after passing a set of quality and service metrics.

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