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  • Tune Hotels plans 100 Indian hotels

    Malaysian hotel group Tune Hotels have announced an aggressive roll-out plan for India with a target of 100 new hotels over the forthcoming years.

    The first 100-room property will open in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on April 1st 2013 and can reflect the core principals of the Tune Hotels brand – international class accommodation that provides great value and great savings.

    Tune Hotels have identified the Indian market as an immense opportunity and should be seeking to bring their unique set-as much as the tourism market. Most hotels in India are likely to have 100 rooms per property, but Tune would look to have between 100 and 200 rooms.

    The brand also will look to target the Indian wedding market which offers huge potential for the visiting friends and relatives market and the chance to accommodate a whole family in a single single hotel.   

    Mark Lankester, chief executive, commented: “We are delighted to be opening in Gujarat and feature a whole strategy in place.

    “Normally we’d target larger locations, akin to Delhi during this instance, but if we checked out the background and history of Gujarat, we identified that it’s the best performing economy within the whole of India.”

    “If you investigate one state which has more citizens living abroad, it’s Gujarat, with a million within the UK and US respectively.

    “This is a big market, and as such, the tactic is for 5 or six hotels to ideally open in Gujarat within the next three years to focus on the opportunities that arise with the VFR and business traveller markets.”

    The Gujarat hotel should be closely followed by a 120-room hotel in Bhiwadi, Haryana, by the top of 2013 and a 200-room hotel near the hot Delhi Railway Station in early 2014.

    Besides Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai are the alternative major capitals that Tune Hotels need to confirm a presence.

    Others within the pipeline are in Neemrana and Jaipur in Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Punjab and Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

  • News: World tourism leaders celebrate success of ITB Berlin 2013

    ITB Berlin 2013 has reaffirmed its place because the largest meeting place for international tourism policy decision-makers and business leaders on the earth.

    German chancellor Angela Merkel, Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, representatives of the arena Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the area Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in addition to greater than 100 ministers of tourism and state secretaries, met in Berlin to aid shape the long run for growth inside the tourism industry.

    Christian Göke, chief operating officer, Messe Berlin, said: “Once again, ITB Berlin has kicked off the travel season worldwide.

    “No other place on earth gathers such a lot of leading representatives from the non-public and public sector.

    “This is where the tone is decided for the way forward for travel for one thousand million people.

    “The increase in international buyers is proof that ITB Berlin remains the largest market for the worldwide travel industry.”
    From March 6th-10th 2013, 10,086 exhibitors from 188 countries presented their services and products in display halls that were fully booked up.

    Overall, some 110,000 trade visitors came to Berlin, of whom 43 per cent were from abroad.

    This year there has been a slight increase in buyers from the united states and the center East.

    The ITB Berlin Convention registered record levels of attendance.

    A total of 21,000 took part within the 200 lectures, discussions and workshops, 25 percent greater than in 2012.

    Social Media and Mobile Travel Services proved to be major visitor attractions.

    The matchmaking event for bloggers involving exhibitors met with a really positive response.

    Visitors also thronged the halls at the Saturday of the show.

    More than 60,000 members of most of the people came to determine in regards to the wide-ranging information on offer from exhibitors and providers of niche market products.

    For the 1st time, visitors on the weekend were ready to book their tours directly at ITB Berlin.

  • News: Small hotels seeing tremendous take advantage of Expedia

    Expedia, Inc., the world’s largest online travel company, released data from the 1st nine months of 2012 indicating that the corporate has partnered with a bigger collection of small hotel partners, defined as hotels with 50 rooms or less, and a rise in net transactions from this sector by nearly 30 percent year on year for that period. Small hotels represent about 1/2 the hotels in Expedia’s direct global inventory.
    By working with the Expedia group, small and independent hotels gain exposure to the greater than 55 million travelers that visit Expedia group travel sites every month, along with greater than 100 branded sites in 70 countries; Egencia®, serving business travelers in 54 countries; leading discount travel site Hotwire®; in addition to Expedia® Affiliate Network, which powers travel bookings for greater than 10000 affiliate websites. 

    Moreover, the Expedia group exposes hotel partners on greater than 135 mobile booking sites, in 60 countries in 35 languages, and thru apps which have been downloaded greater than 15 million times.  Hotel partners also make the most of exposure due to the Expedia group’s strategic marketing investment, which totaled approximately $1.5 billion in 2011.  These investments help reap big rewards for small hotels.

    In Mexico, for instance, Expedia formed new partnerships during the country in 2012 with greater than half new acquisitions being small properties, thereby advancing the company’s commitment to compelling growth and contributing to brand positioning for these hotels.

    “Speaking as someone with a small hotel, the Expedia group is a wonderful partner that provides access to a world market. The corporate works along with your needs and budget and lets you work with a highly experienced business partner to arrive thousands of potential customers. Six months since our opening, we’ve seen concrete results since working with the Expedia group. The corporate is easily positioned and is extremely respected,” said Victor Bonna, owner of l. a. Pasion Hotel Boutique, located in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

    ”We were working with the Expedia group for 5 years, and our results couldn’t be better: notable sales growth; increased brand recognition; and powerful ties to our Market Managers,” said Vania Gonzalez, e-commerce manager from El Cielo hotel in Cancun. “Partnering with the Expedia group is a must, so as to gain worldwide visibility; it will be the primary option for each small hotel, because the company complements and expedites a hotelier’s work with their innovations and technology.”
    “The Expedia group is proud to have an extended-standing relationship with hotel partners around the globe, big and small.  In Mexico alone, the Expedia group is proud to work with greater than 2,000 properties, including small hotels who receive unmatched access to a worldwide-wide market through our relations,” said Pablo Castro, director of market management for Mexico and Central America. “We strongly believe that our growing relationships with this sort of large collection of properties are a testament to our trusted capabilities.”

    “The Expedia group gives us the chance to grow our business as a small hotel by opening doors in markets that we couldn’t reach alone. The company’s brand recognition is irrefutable,” said Blanca Cossio, reservations & e-commerce manager from Riviera del Sol hotel in Playa de Carmen. “In 2012 our sales grew 25%, and most of that growth is a right away results of our collaboration with the Expedia group. We’ve got participated actively in marketing campaigns – including regular, seasonal, weekend and flash sale campaigns – leading to increased room nights booked. With limited budgets, we depend heavily at the Expedia group’s team as an extension of our sales and marketing capabilities.”

    “A key factor that continues fueling growth for Mexico on Expedia group sites is vacation package offerings, as they comprise crucial percentage of all bookings made to the region,” added Castro. “Expedia group packages represent a convenient and engaging purchase option for consumers and, together, hotel partners receive the good thing about extended booking windows and longer lengths of stay, while maintaining rate integrity.”

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  • UNWTO call on tourists to aid reduce illicit trafficking

    In the presence of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the arena Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have agreed to launch a brand new public awareness campaign calling on tourists to assist reduce demand for illicit goods and services associated with transnational organized crime.

    Preparations for the campaign were set in motion in the course of the Spring Meeting of the executive Executive Board of the United Nations in Madrid. A Cooperation Agreement was signed between UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, and UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov inside the presence of United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

    The joint campaign, to be launched later this year, aims to elevate awareness among international tourists concerning the sorts of illicit goods and services to which they can be exposed during their travels and which directly or indirectly fund organized crime groups. Travellers can play a key role in reducing demand for these products through ethical consumer choices. The campaign will encourage tourists to make informed decisions and help reduce demand for trafficking in persons, cultural artefacts, wildlife, fauna and flora together with ivory products, in addition to counterfeit goods, and illicit drugs.

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended this innovative joint initiative between the 2 partner UN Agencies: “The illegal trade in goods and services often funds unscrupulous people fascinated with human trafficking, the illicit ivory trade and other areas that cause immense suffering and destruction. Well-informed tourists could make an actual difference in turning the tide against these criminal acts.”

    Organized criminal networks generate money wherever there’s demand and travellers are usually exposed to things that are illicitly sold. With greater than 1 billion tourists now crossing international borders every year, there’s a growing opportunity to name on tourists to behave and decrease demand for these illicit products which in lots of cases are providing a funding source for organized crime. The campaign drives the message that while some products could seem harmless, the demand created and their sale can, in reality, have devastating effects at the lives of innocent people, on wildlife or on cultural property. The billions of bucks generated through such trade also fund criminal groups who use this money to branch out into other illicit and unethical lines of commercial.

    “Although the infrastructure of tourism – from accommodation establishments to transportation networks – could be misused by traffickers to victimize the vulnerable, tourism has the capability and is firmly committed to reclaim this same infrastructure and use it within the fight against trafficking” said UNWTO’s Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. “Through coordinated efforts, we will be certain that awareness travels – that tourism authorities, travel companies and tourists join us in this fight” he added.

    According to the manager Director of UNODC, Yury Fedotov: “This new awareness-raising campaign might help build awareness about organized crime and the devastating effect it has on people and communities worldwide. Tourists are usually exposed to the traffickers of humans and unethical products. By making informed choices, tourists may help sever the financial arteries that fuel these sorts of illicit trade”.

    The campaign will seek to have interaction the tourism industry including hotel chains, travel agencies and airlines to lend support in raising awareness among tourists and help contribute to limiting these illicit markets.

    The initiative supplements UNWTO’s Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. The Code calls upon tourists to act in a responsible and respectful manner towards the visited destination, urging them to not commit any criminal acts and to refrain from all trafficking in illicit drugs, arms, antiques, protected species, products and substances which can be dangerous or prohibited by national regulations.

  • Hilton takes Conrad brand into Philippines with SM Investment deal

    Hilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation, a subsidiary of SM Investment Corporation, to administer Conrad Manila within the Philippines’ capital city, Manila.

    Scheduled to open in mid 2015, the 350-room Conrad Manila is the 1st Conrad Hotels & Resorts branded property within the Philippines, and may be located along the Manila Bay front and within the heart of the 42-hectare SM Bay City development – home to the fourth largest shopping center on the planet.

    “We are extremely pleased to be introducing the Conrad brand’s uniquely intuitive service and personalized experiences to the Philippines which has any such well-deserved reputation for hospitality,” said John Vanderslice, global head of luxury and lifestyle brands for Hilton Worldwide.

    “In keeping with the spirit of the greater than 20 Conrad Hotels & Resorts operating world wide, Conrad Manila will represent a destination for a brand new generation of smart luxury travellers for whom life, business and enjoyment seamlessly intersect – those who know that the best luxury is the luxurious of being yourself.”

    Located at Seaside Boulevard, Pasay City in Metro Manila and well connected to major roads resulting in the main downtown locations, Conrad Manila is three kilometres from Ninoy Aquino International Airport and 6 kilometres from Makati central business district area.

    The hotel is beside the SM Mall of Asia, the fourth largest shopping center on the earth that draws with regards to 200,000 visitors daily.

    It also sits adjacent to the SMX Convention and Exhibition Center, The sector – a 16,000 seating stadium, and is in close proximity to the MetroStar Ferry Terminal.

    “Manila is the first gateway to the numerous islands and tourist destinations within the Philippines and with a population of eleven.8 million, town is the political, economic, social and cultural centre of the rustic,” said Martin Rinck, president, Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide.

    “Today’s announcement illustrates our continued commitment to expand our footprint inside the Philippines and is an important milestone for us because it marks the entry of our luxury brand, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, into this dynamic city.

    “With a robust partner like SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation, who has vast experience in real estate and hotel development, we’re extremely confident that Conrad Manila will deliver exceptional service and bespoke luxury experiences within the country.”

    The eight-storey Conrad Manila will incorporate two levels of retail and entertainment facilities on ground level.

    The luxury property with a view to offer a special view of the famed Manila Bay sunset may even house one all-day dining restaurant, two specialty restaurants, a bar and lobby lounge.

    It also will have a business centre, a fitness club, a swimming pool, a spa, a 1,446 square meter ballroom and other function and meeting spaces in addition to a carpark.