Cross Hotels & Resorts debuts in Japan with seven-hotel deal

Cross Hotels & Resorts entered the Japanese market in a master franchise agreement with AB Accommo Company.

The franchise agreement currently includes plans for seven properties with a total of 844 keys within four years in locations such as Okinawa and Hokkaido.

A guestroom at the Away Okinawa Kouri Island Resort

The inaugural property, located on Kouri Island, will be called Away Okinawa Kouri Island Resort. Kouri is an island connected to the main Okinawa island by a two-kilometre sea bridge. Set to […]

Bali trailing other Indonesian markets in hotel performance recovery

As Indonesia moves through the early part of 2021, the impact from lost international demand on hotel occupancy levels is most obvious in Bali, which continues to trail the country’s regional markets in the recovery process, according to STR’s latest data.

Indonesia finished 2020 in similar shape as its regional peers. Domestic demand was strong enough to lift hotel occupancy from pandemic low points but not sufficient to overcome the void in international travel.

Impact of international tourist drought on Indonesia’s hotel […]

Bali speeds up vaccine rollout, eyes July reopening to foreign tourists

The Indonesian government is speeding up vaccination efforts in Bali in hopes of achieving herd immunity quicker and reopen the island’s borders to international travellers under a free Covid-19 travel corridor by mid-year.

Speaking to the media at the Bali Investment Forum held in Bali last Friday (March 26), Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, coordinating minister of maritime affairs and investment, said that the government is striving to vaccinate 1.8 or nearly two million people in Bali by April, and another one million […]

Covid-19 robbed global tourism of US$4.5 trillion in 2020

The global travel and tourism sector suffered a loss of almost US$4.5 trillion in 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19, revealed WTTC research.

The tourism body’s annual Economic Impact Report (EIR) showed the sector’s contribution to GDP dropped a staggering 49.1 per cent. In comparison, the overall global economy dropped by just 3.7 per cent last year.

Tourism sector’s contribution to GDP plunged 49.1 per cent in 2020; lone female tourist strolling along an empty street in Old Town Dubai in […]

Regeneration rising

The strive for a smarter, more sustainable way of travelling has arose amid the pandemic, and tourism players in Asia-Pacific are taking action to go the extra green mile.

Move over, sustainable travel. The pandemic has birthed a call for a model of tourism that builds back better by going one step further than the motto of reaching net-zero. Regenerative tourism, the latest buzzword to enter the green scene, calls for a paradigm shift long overdue. Seen as a leap forward […]

Hilton banks on conversions to bolster growth in Thailand

Hilton aims to convert up to 2,000 rooms over two years in Thailand, with a focus on its full service brands Hilton Hotels & Resorts and DoubleTree by Hilton, as well as focused service brand Hilton Garden Inn.

Despite the pandemic, conversion signings for Hilton across the globe in 2020 increased more than 30 per cent versus the prior year.

Hilton sets sights on growth in Thailand; Bangkok skyline pictured

In recent years, Hilton has inked a number of signings in Thailand, paving […]