The Motorhome Hotel in the OCT East eco-tourism area in Shenzhen has both rooms and motorhomes available to guests. As well as the 200 guestrooms it plans to have 15 vehicles (one is pictured) in the second half of this year at the Wind Valley, each one sleeping six people, which guests can use to travel around the area’s lakes, forest and golf course. 

Two of these vehicles are currently on display outside the Interlaken OCT Hotel Shenzhen (which is separate from the Motorhome Hotel).

The eco-tourism part is, according to the webiste of the Interlaken OCT Hotel Shenzhen, aimed at ‘bringing urbanites back to nature’. They have designed various tourist attractions to do so which include three valleys and three towns.
Source: The Interlaken OCT Hotel

China plans to enlarge Kanas Geological Park into a huge national park in the vast northwest Xinjiang region that will eclipse Yellowstone National Park in the United States in size.

We are talking very, very large.

Yellowstone Park is the oldest national park in the world and spans an area of 3,472 square miles (8,987 km²), The Kanas Geological Park, now about 385 square miles, would be expanded to about 10 times that size in the next few years by incorporating nearby tourist regions and grassland. Which would neatly get it past Yellowstone in sheer size.

And in beauty and interest it again rivals Yellowstone. It is 620 miles north of the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi and includes China’s deepest alpine lake, snowcapped mountains and grassland.

More than 900,000 tourists visited the park in the first 10 months this year, a 32% rise over the same period last year. Again, that is challenging Yellowstone which runs about two million visitors a year.

What Kanas has that Yellowstone does not is something akin to the Loch Ness Monster. There is even a video of it, albeit somewhat blurry. Our illustration, previously unpublished, shows the beauty of Lake Kanas with the deep-water monster sunning herself in the spring sunshine.

Almost every tourist destination looks with envious eyes at the potential of China. Guam, the American island in the Marianas, is no exception.

While the topic of the military expansion dominates the thoughts of much of the government — the US American marine base in Okinawa is moving to Guam — the tourism industry is hoping the federal and local government don’t lose sight of what truly brings in Guam’s bread and butter. According to statistics from the Guam Visitors Bureau last year the island’s tourism industry generated $1.3 billion for the local economy.

As well, tourism accounts for approximately 20,000 jobs on island, or 35% of the island’s employment.

Almost all of the tourists are from Japan. Very few are from China.

Chair of the Guam Visitors Bureau board of directors Dave Tydingco, said, ‘China is the single largest growth market. This year there were 38 million outbound from China going around the world and Guam has a minuscule amount of visitors coming from that area.

‘We want our U.S. representatives to look at encouraging a visa waiver only program for Guam. We want to push forward with an approved destination status with the mainland Chinese government. . . It’s to sustain our economy by allowing to continue to allow tourism to grow.’

The visa waiver idea is interesting. In 1969 Guam initiated its visa waiver program whereby citizens of more than a dozen countries are allowed entry to Guam without a visa for a period of up to 14 days. However travel onward to other U.S. points is not allowed.
Source: Kuam

The reason I am a failure in life is because I do not play golf. It has not been for lack of chances. Indeed, my house is very close to a golf course. But, sadly, my personality does not allow me to spend time walking around artificial hillocks hitting small white balls towards holes in the ground. However, for those who do play the game it is a major business asset. More deals are done on golf courses than, perhaps, are ever done in board rooms.

Sofitel, the upmarket hotel group which is part of the French based Accor, understands this and has signed a landmark agreement with the Asian Tour to become an Official Corporate Partner and the first Official Hotel Brand for the Tour.

The Asian Tour will have 27 events offering $27 million in total prize money. They will run through until December.

Sofitel will receive exposure by way of the Asian Tour’s commercial media platforms which includes the official website, www.asiantour.com, Asian Tour Weekly magazine show which is beamed on ESPN StarSports, and on-course branding opportunities. It has the added advantage that, unlike with other sports, the participants are not given to wrecking hotel rooms or upsetting guests.

Ray Stone, Accor Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing, Asia Pacific said: ‘We are delighted to forge this important new alliance with the Asian Tour. Sofitel and golf are a natural combination in Asia, especially in countries like Thailand, Vietnam and China where the brand enjoys a leadership position in the market.’

Sofitel is already heavily involved with golf in Europe, where the brand is a major partner of the Evian Masters in France. In addition, Sofitel Thalassa Miramar in Biarritz is a long-term sponsor of France’s oldest and most important amateur competition, the Biarritz Cup, first played in 1898. In 2006 it was renamed the Sofitel Biarritz Cup.

Sofitel also operates some hotels which are also golf clubs. In China these are the Sofitel Boa & BFA International Convention Centre Golf Club on Hainan Island, the 27-hole Gary Player designed golf course at Sofitel Zhongshan Golf and Resort Nanjing and Hill View Golf Club next to Sofitel Royal Lagoon.
Source: Bunker Shot

Let us start by explaining what the Davos business is all about. The World Economic Forum held in Davos in Switzerland every year draws leaders from business, government and international institutions to exchange opinions and ideas.

The themes of the event are usually the hottest economic and political topics of the year. They normally do not have the sort of title that is thought up by a PR or a marketing person.

Now the world economy has entered a phase of development, as more and more new companies are emerging and reshaping the landscape of the business world.

So a second conference to supplement, not replace, Davos, is to be held in China. Dalian, a coastal city in Northeast China’s Liaoning Province, is the place chosen although somebody has come up with the title Meeting of the New Champions which downgrades the exercise more than somewhat. ‘Summer Davos’ would have been much better and totally explanatory.

The meeting, organized by the World Economic Forum and the Chinese government, is expected to offer a new platform for interaction and collaboration between business leaders, technology pioneers and senior officials from different countries. Xia Deren, mayor of Dalian, said the meeting is to exchange opinions on the latest issues of the world, such as energy, education, environment and technology.

He added: ‘The new champions, as we call them, are a new generation of companies that will fundamentally change the global competitive landscape. They typically have an annual turnover between $2 billion and $4 billion, and no less than 15% year-on-year growth.’

The Summer Davos will be held on September 6 to 8 in Dalian. There will be a total of 60 sessions covering the major topics of the global economic growth such as corporate governance, finance, information, capital, service and human resources.

So far, the World Economic Forum has invited the leaders from 24 countries and 120 ministers to attend the Summer Davos. There will also be invitations for 2,000 formal representatives, including CEOs from Fortune 1,000 companies. (The thought occurs that these important executives are spending far too much time attending conferences and not enough attending to their own business.)

Dalian has excellent hospitality facilities; with seven five-star and 21 four-star hotels. There will be more than 1,000 volunteers for the event, who can speak English, Japanese, Korean and other languages. There will be more than 8,000 guests coming to Dalian during the Summer Davos. At the same time, more than 1,000 domestic and foreign reporters will also come to report the event. Sounds interesting.
Source: People’s Daily Online

Ho Kwon Ping, founder and executive chairman of the Banyan Tree chain of luxury hotels and resorts and seen looking very relaxed in our illustration, states that since its foundation in 1996, Banyan Tree has made a profit every year except 2005. Last year, Banyan Tree Holdings — which owns the 21 resorts, 58 spas and 68 ‘retail galleries’ — was floated in Singapore.

Ho Kwon Ping worked as a journalist on the Far Eastern Economic Review until 1981, when he joined to the family business, which he describes as a ‘typical mini overseas Chinese conglomerate’. He started Banyan Tree in 1996.

More than a decade on, Ho believes that the business is secure because the brand is strong, not just in Asia but across the world. He says a third of customers come from north Asia — Japan, Korea and China — a third from Europe and the US and a third from the rest of the world. The next big geographical push will be to expand its presence in China.

Ho says: ‘We are in the process of starting our own private equity fund. We are raising $500-700m from institutional investors that we would use to add to our existing hotels in China. The fund will be used to develop properties in China. Eventually the properties would have full management agreements with Banyan Tree.’
Source: The Observer

The saying used to be that the sun never sets on the British Empire. Looked at worldwide the same could be said of Starwood. In China Starwood Hotels and Resorts is working on the basis it will become the second largest travel and tourism destination in the world after the United States. So its policy is to sign more hotels at an increasing rate. After opening six new hotels during 2006, Starwood is expected to open 33 new hotels in the region within the next three years.

Some current developments:

Aloft Beijing, Haidian will be part of the recently signed Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian. Facilities will include 200 guestrooms, 3,900 square feet meeting space (think MICE), a fitness centre, indoor pool and three restaurants.
W Guangzhou Hotel & Residences in the economic centre of Pearl River Delta, is due to open in 2010. 320 rooms and suites, 167 serviced apartments, 16,000 sq ft meeting space.
Four Points by Sheraton Guangzhou, Dongpu opening in 2009. 310 guestrooms, over 5,800 sq ft meeting space, three restaurants, outdoor pool, health club and spa.
Sheraton Huadu Resort, Guangzhou is expected to open in 2009. It will have 97 villas with mountain and water views plus all the amenities of an upscale hotel.
The Westin Shimei Bay Resort, Hainan Island will opening in 2010. 40 villas, 124 rooms, 4,300 sq ft meeting space, three restaurants, health club, spa, outdoor swimming pool and tennis court.
A Le Meridien resort is set to open on Hainan Island in 2008.
The Westin Xian should open 2010. 296 rooms, 11,300 sq ft meeting space, five restaurants, health club, spa and indoor heated pool.
The St. Regis Resort, Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous region is opening in 2010. 169 rooms, 9,000 sq ft meeting space, three restaurants, health club, spa, indoor heated pool and business centre.
Sheraton Nanchang Hotel will open in 2011 as part of a mixed use complex including offices and shopping. 350 rooms, three restaurants, lounge, spa, health club, indoor pool and over 20,000 sq ft meeting space.
Westin Tianjin Hotel and Residences set to open in 2010. 300 rooms, 150 residences, four restaurants, health club, spa, indoor heated pool and 17,000 sq ft meeting space.

And that is probably a far from complete list. It is an astounding and extended increase in development for one country.
Source: eTravelBlackboard

Club Mediterranee, Europe’s largest resort company, said it is seeking sites to build resorts in Asia, its fastest-growing market, in nations including China.

Caroline Puechoultres, Club Med’s regional chief executive, said in an interview in Hong Kong , ‘We’ve doubled the market in Southeast Asia since about two years ago. We’ve identified 1 million to 2 million potential users in places like China, India and even Southeast Asia.’

Caroline Puechoultres said about 200,000 of Club Med’s 1.6 million members worldwide are in Asia and that number is expected to double in the next few years.

Perhaps it should be noted that the history of the club has not been all sweetness and light.

The Club was started in 1950 by former Belgian water polo champion, Gérard Blitz and the first village opened on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The original villages were, by concept, very simple with members staying in unlit straw huts on a beachfront, sharing communal washing facilities. Over time such villages have been replaced with modern blocks or huts with en suite facilities. Bbit by bit, it changed both in style and in ownership. At one point it was owned by Accor.

Now it is a different hotel experience which is ideal for parents with young children. The children are entertained throughout the day. Which accounts for much of Club Med’s popularity.

Club Med has nine Asia resorts but, as yet, none in China. It takes up to three years to build a new Club Med village ‘from scratch’ and costs between $70 and $140 million.

Lodging Econometrics, a consulting company in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, estimated last month that 481 hotels are under construction or planned for China.

‘Asia Pacific will more and more come back as a really growing destination for tourism and Southeast Asia will grow probably the fastest,’ Caroline Puechoultres said. ‘The cost of operations is quite low in the region and the sites are just wonderful.’

That does not specify China as an immediate target but it is most unlikely that Club Mediterranee can ignore the fastest growing economy in Asia if not the world.
Source: Live Mint and research.

In just under a month, the ‘golden holiday week’ will be upon us. In an effort to combine culture and tourism, three big resorts in Hainan’s Sanya will hold the first Jazz Festival on Yalong Bay Beach.

The Hilton Sanya Resort & Spa, Sanya Marriott Resort & Spa and Sheraton Sanya Resort are organizing the event which will host local and international jazz bands. All proceeds go to charity.
Source: PR Hilton Sanya Resort & Spa

Carlson Hotels is to operate a new hotel in China, the Radisson Hotel Tianjin Zongkai. It is in the Nankai District of Mainland China’s third largest city, Tianjin.

The hotel will feature an all-day dining restaurant, a specialty Chinese restaurant, a lobby lounge bar, a beauty salon, and a contemporary health club which includes an in-door swimming pool.

The Radisson Hotel Tianjin Zongkai is owned and developed by Zhong Kai Investment and the exterior and interior will be designed by Frank C. Y. Feng Architects.

The Radisson Hotel Tianjin Zhongkai brings the number of Carlson hotels currently under development in China to three. There are currently nine hotels operating in China under the Carlson hotel brands of Regent Hotels & Resorts, Radisson Hotels & Resorts and Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts.
Source: Asia Travel Tips