Meeting News - December 17, 2007 - (Page 38)

Destination Insider: Asia-Paciﬁc Edited by Elizabeth West elizabeth.west@nielsen.com China Massive Hotel Development* Photo: Associated Press/Elizabeth Dalziel Number of Rooms Under All Rooms Projects Construction In Pipeline Macau . . . . . . . . . 36 . . . . . . . 21,736 . . . . . . 26,209 Shanghai . . . . . . . 96 . . . . . . . 17,149 . . . . . . 23,885 Beijing . . . . . . . . 71 . . . . . . . 15,972 . . . . . . 18,458 Hong Kong . . . . . . 50 . . . . . . . . 9,180 . . . . . . 12,626 Includes those developments publicly announced, those that possess designated land parcels, and projects that continue to be pursued by developers * Construction boom: China’s World Trade Center, in Beijing, is where one of the city’s 71 hotel construction sites is located. Source: Lodging Econometrics Asia-Paciﬁc Hotel Builds Reaching Record Levels With a total of 1,555 hotels and 366,679 guest rooms currently in the construction pipeline, the 24 countries of the Asia-Paciﬁc region are seeing recordbreaking hotel construction activity, according to Lodging Econometrics (LE), in Portsmouth, NH. “The pipeline for the region has reached new record highs,” said said Patrick Ford, LE’s president. “The region’s capital cities and ﬁnancial centers are booming, business and tourism travel, along with convention and meeting business, is on the upswing, and many major markets have occupancy percentages in the 70s or low 80s.” In anticipation of the tourist boom that will come from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, mainland China is leading the way in hotel development with 783 projects (222,591 total guest rooms). This represents 50 percent of all planned projects in the Asia-Pacific region and 60 percent of all guest rooms. Of those 783 projects, 336 are expected to open in 2008, delivering 87,491 guest rooms. India follows with 261 projects planned for a total of 47,467 rooms, mostly in cities specializing in office outsourcing, and consisting mainly of mid-market brands, along with some upscale ﬂags. A booming economy is driving development in Hong Kong, which plans to add 50 hotels, and Macau, well on its way to becoming a major convention and meeting destination on the heels of its success as a gaming locale. 38 MeetingNews December 17, 2007 In response to Macau’s gaming developments, the Singapore government has issued two licenses for its own casino development, one to the Las Vegas Sands Group, which has a 2,500-room casino project under construction adjacent to downtown, and the other to the Genting Group, based in Kuala Lumpur, which has started construction on a sprawling resort on Sentosa Island that will include six hotels with 300 rooms each. Event Report Singapore Fuses Energy of Asia’s Young Business Stars Leaders summit sparkles in hub city Asian countries gathered at the Singapore Shangri-La in October for the Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit, a conference for Asian leaders less than 40 years old in various industries. “They [came from all over], from Iran to Japan and down into Australasia,” said New York-based Michael Kulma, director of policy programs for the Asia Society, who was the event’s planner. The Asia Society chose Singapore for the second annual three-day summit because “Singapore is an incredibly easy place in which to do business,” said Kulma. Attendees were greeted by S.R. Nathan, president of the Republic of Singapore, as well as other leaders at the opening session before a performance by Singapore Management University Samba Masala and the chance to groove to the high-energy fusion Asian/Brazilian youth percussion band. All day Saturday and Sunday morning were ﬁlled with general sessions and breakouts, while Saturday night was reserved for a reception at the Botanic Gardens’ Burkill Hall, built in 1866, followed by live Singaporean music at Timbre @ The Arts House, a popular new restaurant/club with daily live music. “It was a chance to give our attendees a great ﬂavor of what Singapore has to offer,” said Kulma. www.meetingnews.com MPI on Orient Express As part of its efforts to become more global, Meeting Professionals International has opened a Singapore office. “Singapore’s regional hub position, long-term expertise in the meetings and events industry, and multicultural workforce provide the perfect location for our new management structure,” said Bruce MacMillan, MPI president and CEO. “Our goal is also to expand our relationships in the region, and explore ways in which MPI can deliver its value propositions within the Asian meetings and events industry.” MPI plans to introduce the Professional Education Conference-Asia (PEC-Asia) in Singapore in 2008, targeting meeting professionals who conduct business within the region. As for local chapters, an edition in Korea is planned, in conjunction with the Korean Convention & Event Association and the Seoul Convention & Visitors Bureau. Also, last summer a steering committee was formed to drive the creation of the MPI India Chapter, projected for a 2008 launch. http://www.meetingnews.com

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