(Reuters) - Six Continents Plc, the world's largest international hotels group, reported a 24 percent fall in annual profits on Thursday and warned it was more cautious on its hotel prospects for 2003 than it was in late September.

Six Continents, which runs Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels, reported pre-tax profits for the year to September 30 of 558 million pounds ($878 million) compared to analysts' forecasts of 540-575 million pounds.

The group's worldwide hotels side was hit by the events of September 11, 2001. Although trading this October and November was ahead of the same two months in 2001 it was still well down on the boom year of 2000.

"It is for this reason that we are more cautious as to the prospects for 2003 then we were as recently as the end of September," the group said in a statement.

"In hotels, this has been one of the toughest trading periods ever, especially after the tragedy of 11 September 2001," said Group Chief Executive Tim Clarke. The group also warned its UK pubs and restaurants division had seen some weakening of trading particularly in Greater London and in its High Street sites, which account for 40 percent of the division's sales, while trading conditions in more residential areas were more resilient.

As a result, like-for-like sales in the first eight weeks of the new financial year were off 4.5 percent against a decline of 3.4 percent in the second half of the reported year.

In October, the group said it intends to spin off its 2,000 UK pubs and restaurants to create two separately listed companies by early next year and return 700 million pounds to investors, but added few further detail with results.

As part of the demerger, shareholders will receive stock in both the hotels and pubs companies and also 81 pence per existing share in cash, but aggregate dividends per share from both companies will be reduced by 38 percent in the first year after separation compared with the 2002 total dividend.

The annual dividend for the reported year rose 2.9 percent to 35.3 pence a share.

The shares have underperformed the FTSE 100 by 15 percent since the confirmation of its demerger in early October, largely due to the big aggregate dividend cut. The shares closed on Wednesday at 545p.

Conference revival helps De Vere profits rise

Manchester Online -  Hotels and fitness clubs operator De Vere says it is enjoying a revival in the conference market, which was shattered in the wake of September 11.

Chief executive Paul Dermody said Warrington-based De Vere has seen a 25 per cent increase in bookings in the first eight weeks of the financial year.

"It puts a small smile on my face, but it's early days," he said.

The figures are being compared with the same period last year, when huge numbers of businesspeople cancelled their travel and conference plans following September 11.

As a result, the group switched its focus to the short-breaks leisure market, which paid off as it enjoyed a 12.2 per cent upsurge in annual pre-tax profits.

The group operates 21 De Vere hotels and 14 Village Hotels and Leisure Clubs. It also runs 14 Greens health and fitness clubs, which are now in profit.

Turnover for the year to September 29 rose 7.3 per cent from £273.8m to £293.9m. Pre-tax profits before exceptionals were up from £33.6m to £37.7m.

The final dividend is 7.35p, making a total of 11.3p for the year, up from 10.6p.

Tough climate

Mr Dermody said the group's performance had been "robust and resilient" in extremely difficult market conditions, following September 11 and the slowing world economy.

All its hotels increased like-for-like room revenues at a time when the provincial market declined.

The group switched its focus from the declining conference and corporate market to the short-break market.

De Vere's Village Bury opened in August last year and is meeting its income targets.

The Village brand is now poised to be introduced to southern England, with openings due in Maidstone and Bournemouth, and sites earmarked in the Midlands.

One of the highlights of last year was the staging of golf's Ryder Cup at The De Vere Belfry in September. The 2001 event was cancelled in the wake of the US terror attacks.

Although the group lost £500,000 in hosting the event, Mr Dermody said it showcased the De Vere brand to a global audience.

Under new accounting rules, De Vere had a pensions shortfall of £25.8m at the year-end, but this has since been reduced as the stock markets have strengthened.

Mr Dermody said: "We are pleased with recent trading, although we remain cautious about extrapolating a trend."  

Shanghai seals World Expo victory

TravelWeeklyEast.com  -  The city of Shanghai has been anticipating victory to host the World Expo in 2010 for the past several months.

At last, celebrations in the streets began after the results came late last night from the Bureau of International Expositions, in a final run-off vote between Yeosu in South Korea and Shanghai.

Director of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration Commission, Yao Mingbao told TravelWeekly last month that he was confident with the success of APEC last year and the continued steps the travel industry is taking toward upgrading itself to meet market demand, the city would be able to win the bid to host the expo.

“Should we win the bid for the Expo, the pace of Shanghai’s economic growth will be incredibly fast,” he said. “For this event alone, Shanghai would potentially welcome 70 million visitors into the city…and it will be an event to "remember.”

M&C keen to promote Singapore to the world

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc (M&C) is looking to partner Singapore Tourism Board (STB) again in its future programs to promote Singapore world-wide, following the success of the recent Singapore Food Festival, organised by STB at Millennium UN Plaza Hotel in New York.

The event was presented to New Yorkers by Singapore’s food ambassador and celebrity, Ms Violet Oon, together with Millennium UN Plaza Hotel’s sous chef, Mr Alex Hing.

Mr Vincent Yeo, Chief Operating Officer, Millennium & Copthorne International Limited (MCIL) said, “We are very glad to have been given this opportunity to work with Violet and the STB to help promote Singapore and it’s cuisine to other parts of the world.  Especially in these trying times, an event like this in New York is timely as we hope it increases awareness of Singapore and improves our tourism profile at the end of the day.”

“We look forward to working with Violet and STB again on the next Singapore Food Festival and can offer any of our 91 hotels around the world as venues,” Mr Yeo added.

M&C can offer many of its 91 hotels in 17 countries as venues for STB and Ms Oon to create greater awareness of the many diverse culture and cuisine in this country to the world market.  M&C hotels are located in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.  Millennium UN Plaza, the venue of last November’s food festival, is one of the four hotels in New York owned by the Singaporean-controlled M&C.

The Singapore Food Festival celebrates the diverse cuisine of Singapore took place at the hotel’s critically acclaimed restaurant, the Ambassador Grill.  The festival menu was presented by Singapore’s Food Ambassador, Violet Oon and the hotel’s sous chef, Alex Hing.  Both Violet and Alex also headlined a special Singapore dinner at the prestigious James Beard House on 13 November with great success.

About Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc (M&C), the London-listed global hotel arm of the Hong Leong Group Singapore, has a stable of 91 hotels in 17 countries, in major gateway cities throughout the United Kingdom, continental Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.  M&C is the 35^th largest hotel group in the world and is ranked 59^th in the list of “Britain’s Most Admired Companies”.  The majority of its hotels operate under the ‘Millennium’ and ‘Copthorne’ brands.  The Group also owns several chain-managed hotels, namely Seoul Hilton in South Korea, Grand Hyatt Taipei, The Regent in Kuala Lumpur, Nikko Hotel and JW Marriott in Hong Kong, The Heritage Hotel in Manila, Millenium Hilton and the landmark Plaza, both in New York.

AIME 2002: ICCA debates long term influences on the Meetings industry

ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association, will conduct an important seminar and debate featuring industry leaders at AIME 2003, the 11th AsiaPacific Incentives and Meetings Expo in Melbourne, Australia in February.
 
Long term influences on the meetings industry - not related to 9/11, Bali and security, will focus attention on the long term growth of the corporate and association meetings industry. Key issues to be tabled include technology, life-long learning, globalization and environmentalism.
 
"At this important seminar and debate you will find out how the accelerating change in technology and the need for education is influencing the industry and how the economic changes that are occurring in the world will help drive long term growth. These issues are vital to future business decisions," said Martin Sirk, CEO, ICCA.
 
Corbin Ball, international speaker, author, columnist, consultant and high tech meetings guru will present the latest technology trends prior to the debate. Mr Ball will speak on Hot Meeting Technology Trends, bringing delegates up to date with the latest technology and how it will apply to the meeting industry. This session is a must for anyone involved in running meetings and events.
 
The discussion and debate will include panelists: Martin Sirk, CEO, ICCA , Corbin Ball, Corbin Ball Associates, Leigh Harry, Chief Executive, Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre and Anthony Wong, Managing Director, AOS Convention & Events Sdn Bhd, Malaysia. Topics include:
 
Technology - Technology is in a continual state of development. Innovate too slowly and you lose opportunity, innovate too fast and you may waste precious resources.
 
Life-long learning - The notion of "life-long learning" is becoming established in many fields (in the medical field it is now virtually mandatory), and meetings are one excellent way for peer groups to learn from one another.
 
Globalisation - Globalisation is a reality: meetings are constantly needed between governments, within associations, and in multinational companies to address the many issues that are being raised.
 
Environmentalism - Environmentalism is here: global warming, action to reduce poverty, issues relating to nuclear power - these are all being debated at numerous levels, and will lead to increasing numbers and sizes of meetings.
 
The ICCA Seminar and Panel Discussion commences at 8.15am, Wednesday 19 February at AIME 2003. AIME 2003 is at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, 18 & 19 February. For further information, to register for AIME and to book seminar sessions, visit the AIME website at: www.aime.com.au

Full House for Amsterdam Hotels

Findings from the inaugural HotelBenchmark Survey for Belgium & The Netherlands

Results from the inaugural HotelBenchmark Survey for Belgium  & The Netherlands by Deloitte & Touche launched last week in Amsterdam reveal that hotels in Amsterdam significantly outperformed their Brussels counterparts in 2001 with occupancy levels of 80 percent compared to 69 percent in Brussels.  Year-to-September 2002 data reveals that Amsterdam hoteliers have managed to restrict the downturn in demand with occupancy falling just 1.8 percent to reach 79 percent, compared to a 7.3 percent decline in Brussels to 64 percent.

Julia Felton, travel, tourism & leisure director at Deloitte & Touche comments,:

 "The imbalance of supply and demand in the Amsterdam market has helped hoteliers achieve the highest occupancy performance of any city in Europe.

With occupancy levels around 80 percent there are few "soft" demand periods throughout the year and therefore hoteliers should be looking to push average room rates upwards.  In contrast, the Brussels markets continues to suffer the effects of significant new supply built during the 1990's, and although mid-week occupancy levels are good, hotels tend to come under pressure at weekends."

The survey also reveals the marked difference between the performance of hotels in Amsterdam and that of hotels located in provincial Netherlands.

At 67 percent, occupancy levels in the provinces are on average 12 percentage points lower than the city, whilst average room rates are Euro 45 lower at Euro 95. This compares starkly with the performance of hotels in

Brussels and those in provincial Belgium, where hotels in both markets trade at around 66 percent occupancy.  Reflecting the higher grade of hotels in the capital, hotels in Brussels achieve an average room rate some Euro 11 better than their provincial counterparts at Euro 103. 

Interestingly, performance of hotels in the provincial Netherlands closely mirrors that of hotels in both Brussels and provincial Belgium, indicating how the closely linked the pattern of demand is across the two countries.

Hotels in both Amsterdam and Brussels have been impacted by the performance of the airport locations of Schiphol and Zaventem.  At Zaventem the demise of Sabena airlines has had a significant impact on the number of passenger arrivals resulting in occupancy levels at the airport falling 25 percent to reach 55 percent in the year to September.  This compares to an occupancy of 73 percent in the prior year.  As demand has fallen so have average room rates, which have dropped seven percent to Euro 125.  However, hotels at

Zaventem still manage to achieve higher average room rates than hotels located in central Brussels.  Hotels at Schiphol airport have traditionally benefited from overflow demand from hotels in central Amsterdam, but with some spare capacity in the capital this has contributed to occupancy falling by five percent to 74 percent. Ironically, passenger numbers at Schiphol in September 2002 are actually 3.3 percent higher than in September 2000 and this is due primarily to the rapid expansion of low cost carriers such as EasyJet.

Julia Felton added, "We are delighted to be able to expand the suite of HotelBenchmark Surveys to include a country report for Belgium & The Netherlands.  This new monthly survey tracks the performance of some 26,000 rooms across the two countries in terms of occupancy, average room rate and revPAR, making it the most comprehensive and reliable indicator of hotel performance and trends".

A copy of the full presentation made by Julia Felton at the survey launch can be downloaded from http://www.HotelBenchmark.com/pdf/021128bene.pdf.

The HotelBenchmark Survey tracks the performance of over 6,000 hotels across 300 markets globally on a monthly basis making it the most comprehensive survey of hotel performance outside North America.  Over 2,000 hotels also participate in the annual profitability survey.  Participants of the survey can access the results online at www.HotelBenchmark.com

For more information and to join the survey please contact Lorna Clarke at llclarke@deloitte.co.uk

About Deloitte & Touche:

Deloitte & Touche is the UK's fastest growing major professional services firm in 23 locations, with over 10,000 staff nationwide and fee income of £713.6 million in 2001/2002.  It is the UK practice of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a global leader in professional services with over 100,000 people in 140 countries and fee income of $12.4 billion for the year ended 31 May 2001.

Authorised by the Financial Services Authority in respect of regulated activities.  The information contained in this article is correct at the time of going to press. For further information on Deloitte & Touche, you can access the website on www.deloitte.co.uk.

East London hotels enjoy early boom

Dispatch Online – East London: Hundreds of people wishing to enjoy the early days of the holiday season here are finding no room at the inn. Hotels have been fully booked over the last few weeks and the large number of corporate functions at this time of year has also boosted the demand for accommodation.

As a result, the hospitality industry will be able to boast full occupancy rates right through the holiday season instead of just during a few busy weeks in the middle.

While leisure accommodation has always been the city's strong point, corporate functions like end-of-year parties, meetings, launches, conferences, seminars and workshops have kept local hotels very busy.

Several delegates visiting the city have been forced to book into bed and breakfast establishments and outlying resorts.

Hemingways Hotel general manager Steve Chimana said the demand for conference centres and hotel rooms had been "very high".

"We are doing very well and part of the reason is that the major cities have been getting all the large events and now it is our turn."

Dolphin Hotel owner Glen Johnson said the location of the Eastern Cape legislature in Bisho had been a key factor in the demand for accommodation.

"It is much better than last year partly because we offer real value at reasonable tariffs," said Sam Nassimov, managing director of Premier Group which manages the Regent and King David Hotel.

"The city has always been a good conference destination and we should try to promote it more," said Nassimov.

Buffalo City Tourism managing director Glenton De Kock attributed the demand for corporate accommodation to the partnerships between the private and public sector.

"This is just reward and a compliment for the hard work that has gone into promoting the city," he said.

"East London has unique selling points such as its location, comfortableness and easy access," said De Kock.

"Affordability is another strong point and a collectively aggressive marketing drive can guarantee more business."

Eastern Cape Tourism Board chief executive officer Nomkhita Mona said the huge interest was due to the "cool and calm appeal of East London".

"Our people have become experts and more professional insofar as treatment, approach and presentation are concerned," Mona said.

Kerzner  re-brands luxury resorts to  ‘One&Only’

(Business Wire) - Kerzner International Limited announced today that its luxury resort hotels will be operated and marketed under the "One&Only" brand. Including investments financed at the local level, and also contemplated expansion projects, One&Only's management team will have overseen approximately $ 500 million in luxury resort development. This has created a collection of unique resorts that sets the Company on its way to achieve its goal of becoming the pre-eminent worldwide luxury resort operator.

One&Only is designed exclusively for the luxury resort market. Conceived as a hallmark of quality, this unified branding approach will raise the group's profile amongst owners, partners and investors and bring it to front of mind for these audiences and for consumers alike. The brand will consolidate the success of the Company's finest properties worldwide, and combined with Kerzner's experience as a luxury resort operator, One&Only will provide a catalyst for future expansion into exciting new locations.

The One&Only brand is being launched from the re-opening of the One&Only Le Touessrok, Mauritius, this week, and will be followed by the opening of the newly-expanded One&Only Royal Mirage later in the month. Three other resorts complete the brand's prestigious portfolio: the One&Only Le Saint Geran, Mauritius, the One&Only Ocean Club, Bahamas and the One&Only Kanuhura, Maldives. The recently-acquired Palmilla, Mexico, once extended, will become the One&Only Palmilla. These initial properties will be joined by the development of new luxury resorts in the Company's development pipeline. The Company will introduce One&Only to the travel trade and consumer worldwide in early to mid-2003 through an integrated marketing campaign.

Butch Kerzner, CEO of One&Only, comments: "When it comes to developing new hotels, we do not apply a standard formula. One&Only is a guarantee that each of our hotels will provide a distinctive and unique experience. At the same time, each hotel is underpinned by our passion for quality, fun and luxury. We do luxury, but not in a stuffy way. We like to offer our guests lots of choices, from taking a complete break from it all, and having some peace and quiet, to being more active and enjoying all the entertainment and facilities on offer. These values are the heart and soul of One&Only. It's a brand built on our long experience, which we believe makes us better than anyone else at understanding the business."

The Company plans to brand all its future luxury resort hotels as One&Only. A new One&Only resort is currently under development on the island of Reethi Rah in the Maldives and a new property in Marrakech, Morroco, is in early stages of planning. Further One&Only properties in other markets are currently being considered.

About One&Only

One&Only Resorts is the management company behind the resort hotels of Kerzner International Limited, a leading international developer and operator of premier resorts, casinos and luxury hotels. One&Only is the new brand that Kerzner has created for its rapidly expanding portfolio of 5-star, luxury properties.

One&Only is distinguished by a simple philosophy: the promise of distinctive resorts and an outstanding experience at the world's best locations. There are currently five One&Only resorts to be discovered:

-- On Mauritius, the One&Only Le Saint Geran and the One&Only Le Touessrok;

-- In the Bahamas, the One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island;

-- In Dubai, the One&Only Royal Mirage; and

-- In the Maldives, the One&Only Kanuhura.

Each of these luxury resort hotels has its own particular life and energy. Each has its own beautiful design and craft, taking from and adding to its surroundings.

The recently-acquired Palmilla in Mexico and a new property on the island of Reethi Rah, Maldives, which is currently under development, will shortly join the brand's portfolio.

A new property in Marrakech, Morroco, is in early stages of planning.

http://www.oneandonlyresorts.com

About the Company

Kerzner International Limited is a leading international developer and operator of premier casinos, resorts and luxury hotels. The Company's flagship destination is Atlantis, a 2,317-room, ocean-themed resort located on Paradise Island, The Bahamas. Atlantis is a unique destination casino resort featuring three interconnected hotel towers built around a 7-acre lagoon and a 34-acre marine environment that includes the world's largest open-air marine habitat. The Company also developed and receives certain revenues from Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Following the completion of a $ 1 billion expansion, the Native American-themed Mohegan Sun has become one of the profitable casino resort destinations in the United States. "The Company will continue to seek opportunities for further major destination casino resorts for which it will create and build strong, stand-alone brands like Atlantis", says Sol Kerzner, Chairman and CEO of Kerzner International. In the luxury resort hotel business, the Company manages a collection of nine luxury resorts in The Bahamas, Mauritius, Dubai, the Maldives and Mexico, and has entered into a management and development agreement for a new property in the Maldives.

For more information concerning the Company and its operating subsidiaries visit http://www.kerzner.com.

Marriott's sale of unit temporarily blocked

(Reuters) - Marriott International's MAR.N attempt to sell its assisted living unit may have hit a snag after a Massachusetts court temporarily barred it from closing any sale of the business following a lawsuit by two of its financial partners.

Senior Housing Properties Trust SNH.N and Five Star Quality Care sought the restraining order after they filed suit against Marriott last week to terminate their management contracts with the hotel operator, Senior Housing said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Marriott manages 31 senior living communities that are owned by Senior Housing and leased by Five Star.

In the suit, Senior Housing and Five Star allege that Marriott improperly allocated insurance charges and home office expenses to the managed properties and that it unfairly profited from purchases made for the communities that Marriott directed to its affiliates, Senior Housing said.

Marriott announced earlier this year it might consider a sale or spinoff of its assisted living business, Marriott Senior Living Services Inc., which had sales of $179 million in the third quarter, up 8 percent from the year-ago period.

Marriott could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment.

Macdonald Hotels checks in with 17% hike in earnings

Macdonald Hotels says it is seeing an improved performance from its London sites, and is now giving a higher priority to development of its time-share business.

The group, which is headquartered in Bathgate, saw a rise in both turnover and profits during the year to October 3. This was despite a decline in yields and revenues from its high-earning hotels in the M25 area around London, which were hit in the travel downturn after last year's September 11 attacks.

Elsewhere in the UK, room yields rose 5% to help Macdonald Hotels record a 17% increase in pre-tax profits, which rose to £16.1m from £13.8m previously. The company also benefited from the sale of four part-owned and one wholly-owned hotel, adding £1.8m to the bottom line.

The poor performance of the hard-hit M25 hotels was also offset by an increase in management fees, most of which are generated by the contract Macdonald Hotels holds to manage the properties in its joint venture with the Bank of Scotland. This partnership, announced in April 2001, now accounts for 42 of the 110 hotels and resorts in Macdonald's portfolio.

Donald Macdonald, chief executive, said the firm would now look more closely at developing its resorts business, having come through an extremely tough period for UK hotels. While the core hotel operation will remain the main priority, planning applications to build timeshare facilities around some of these "destination hotels" will also be submitted.

Within the M25, revenues per available room (revpar) were down 17% in the first half of the year. However, this improved in the second half, with revpar down only 5%.

The Scottish hotels performed particularly well, with Aberdeen leading the way as the addition of function and leisure facilities helped boost business by about 12%.

Hotels in the Lake District "virtually doubled" the previous year's performance, having fully recovered from the fallout of the foot-and-mouth epidemic two years ago.

Macdonald said the current financial year got off to a good start in October. Although demand softened again in November, it has strengthened in December, and there is "no reason to believe" January won't be a strong month as well.

The total dividend for the year has been raised 12% to 7.5p.  

Thailand's Convention and Exhibition Bureau open for business

AsiaTravelTips.com - The Convention and Exhibition Bureau (CEB) has now been formally established and is accepting applications for membership from tourism-related associations that wish to attract this lucrative sector of the travel industry.

The Bureau is seeking to interest associations like those of the hotels, travel agents, guides, exhibition companies and others to join up and help promote Thailand internationally as a world-class meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition (MICE) destination.

Established as a public organisation by a Royal Decree and effective from the September 28, 2002, date of publication in the Royal Gazette, the Bureau will oversee marketing and promotion campaigns in major markets and coordinate Thailand's participation in high-profile global MICE trade shows.

The Bureau also will provide consultancy and advisory services as well as research and statistics to member companies. It will help boost their competitiveness through training courses and coordinate the development of the MICE business with public and private agencies.

The bureau's board of directors is now being set up. It will consist of 11 members and hold office for a four-year period. The board members will include the chairman who will be appointed by the cabinet and four representatives from governmental bodies such as the TAT, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Department of Export Promotion.

There will also be three people from the private sector who may well be connected with trade associations such as the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA) or the Thai Hotels Association (THA), two non-government persons who will probably be drawn from the academic world as well as the executive director.

After the board has been appointed, work will begin on hiring full-time executives and staff members.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)'s International Convention Division Director Mr. Udom Metatamrongsiri commented, "The establishment of CEB will help promote the Thai MICE industry by showcasing our excellent facilities and services. We expect to see more international MICE events in Thailand in the coming years."

Those who are interested to become a member or work with the CEB can contact the Bureau which is presently located at:

TAT Headquarters
1600 New Phetburi Road
Makkasan, Rajatevee, 
Bangkok 10310, 
Tel: (66-2) 253 7422
Fax: (66-2) 253 7423
E-mail: convdiv@tat.or.th

In 2001, international convention delegates and spouses to Thailand totalled 166,783, an increase of 18.69% over 2000. During January-June 2002, MICE delegates totalled 52,102, up by 14.94% over the same period of 2001, much higher than the 6.44% growth in total visitor arrivals to Thailand.

Several high-profile events are to be held in Thailand over the next few years, including the 20th World Scout Jamboree in December 2002, the APEC Leaders Summit in 2003, the XV International AIDS Conference in 2004 to be attended by 14,000 delegates, and the Lions Clubs International in 2008, the world's largest convention which will bring 30,000 delegates  

Source: AsiaTravelTips.com

Luxury mart off to a good start  

TTG Asia -  The inaugural International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), which takes place in Cannes from December 10 to 12, is off to a good start.

The event has attracted 368 companies from 38 countries – “the crème de la crème” of the industry – and 434 buyers from 33 countries, according to ILTM Media exhibition director, Mr David Hammond.

“It has exceeded expectations,” he said. ILTM was targeting 200 companies for the first show.

Only the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton hotel chains, it seems, are missing from the ILTM roster that is beginning to read like a traveller’s dream vacation.

High-end accommodation looks set to form about 40 per cent of exhibitors; the rest includes luxury transport operators such as cruise companies and private jets, island retreats, specialist products such as safaris and even unique experiences such as Space Adventures.

“Luxury is indeed about luxurious surroundings and lots of pampering but more and more nowadays, it is also about having access to unique experiences,” Mr Hammond said, when asked to define luxury travel.

The good response so far attests to the power and resilience of this niche market, according to ILTM.

Though representing a mere three per cent of global travellers, high-end leisure travellers and the corporate and incentive markets account for 20 per cent of all travel expenditure.

Source:  TTG Asia

Petersburg Hotels Brace for a Flood of Dignitaries

The Moscow Times  -  The shortage of hotel rooms that St. Petersburg experiences every year during the peak of the tourism season will be exacerbated by the city's 300th-anniversary celebrations in May and June.

But hoteliers are breathing easier after the federal government scaled back its earlier request to take over every room in the city's best hotels for three weeks next summer.

To ensure that the 15,000 official guests invited to visit the city for the celebrations get beds, the presidential property department and the tourism department of the Economic Development and Trade Ministry sent a letter in July to 24 hotels in St. Petersburg, asking them to reserve all of their rooms for official guests between May 15 and June 5.

While the news initially created concern within the local tourism industry, the government later reduced the official period to a few days.

"The fact that the government has asked us to block these dates for official guests doesn't disturb me, as they are going to fill all 232 of our rooms between May 27 and June 1," said the Astoria Hotel's international sales manager, Maurice Fleskens.

"We are happy, however, that the initial period, which was really too long, has been shortened to a few days," Fleskens said.

The presidential property department would not release the names of the 24 hotels contacted with the request.

However, the city's top hotels -- the Astoria Hotel, the Grand Hotel Europe, the Corinthia Nevskij Palace and the Radisson SAS -- are reserving rooms.

While most of the high-level foreign guests will be guests of President Vladimir Putin at the Konsantinovsky Palace, near the suburb of Peterhof, foreign officials' security and support staff, as well as other support staff accompanying federal officials coming for the celebration from Moscow, will require hotel rooms in the city.

According to St. Petersburg's tourism committee, the northern capital has enough rooms to accommodate about 32,000 tourists, a number that increases by 17,000 if the city's 72 health resorts are included.

"Cruise ships are also becoming increasingly popular in the city, and are expected to bring 3,000 tourists next summer," said Valentin Zakharov, the committee's spokesman.

"But there will definitely not be enough rooms for everyone this summer; this happens every year," Zakharov said.

Almost 4 million tourists, from Russia and abroad, visited St. Petersburg last year, but the number of tourists wishing to visit the city next spring and summer is likely to break all previous records.

"About 40 delegations are expected to visit St. Petersburg, including countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States, the European Union, the G-8, as well as India and China," said presidential property department spokesman Viktor Khrekov. "The funds to cover the hotel bill will be taken from the federal budget, but I don't know how much it will amount to."

Although the government has been careful about placing hotel reservations in order to avoid forcing hotels to cancel tourist bookings, the process is going slowly. Some hotel managers are still in the dark as to what will happen in their hotels at the end of May and the beginning of June.

Even though the dates in the new government guidelines are narrower, the Grand Hotel Europe has already blocked off its rooms for a longer period.

"For the moment, we are not taking tourist reservations for the period between May 25 and June 5," said Elmar Greif, the Grand Hotel Europe's general manager.

"We are still waiting for the government to send us more detailed information," he said.

Khrekov said the hotels might have to wait another few months for precise guidelines.

"The process is under way, but concrete information will be available only toward the beginning of next year, because the bureaucratic process is going slowly," he said.

City Hall said it is aware of the accommodation problems and that it is trying to ease the situation.

"The city administration is taking measures to improve this situation and build new hotels by attracting investors, turning over sites for construction and following up with the construction process," said Zakharov of St. Petersburg's tourism committee.

"By 2006, the city plans to increase the number of hotel beds by 2,500," he said.

A group of hotels are expected to open before the anniversary celebrations.

New hotels are under construction on Vladimirsky Prospekt, Suvorovsky Prospekt, and on the grounds of the Sestroretsk golf club. In addition, four small luxury hotels are being built on Kamenny Ostrov

What women travellers want

TTG Asia  -  Women across Asia-Pacific, with the exception of those in Taiwan, are planning to either vacation in their home country or visit neighbouring countries for a holiday this year, according to MasterCard International's latest survey.

The highest number of respondents who chose to stay close to home is from Indonesia (51 per cent), followed by Australia (48 per cent), Philippines (38 per cent), Hong Kong (35 per cent) and Malaysia (33 per cent).

Bucking this trend is Taiwan, where 29 per cent of those polled plan to travel to the US or Canada and only 28 per cent plan to vacation in or near home.

North Asia is the second most popular vacation destination for women from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand.

Female respondents from Hong Kong chose South-east Asia as their second-most preferred destination. Filipinos chose the US or Canada and Singaporeans selected Australia or New Zealand.

When asked who they plan to vacation with, most women surveyed indicated they planned to travel with their families.

Resort and spa vacations were the preferred holiday choice of respondents in Hong Kong (39 per cent), followed by Australia (32 per cent), Singapore (32 per cent), Taiwan (31 per cent) and the Philippines (27 per cent).

Culture travel was most interesting to respondents in Malaysia (36 per cent), followed by Thailand (30 per cent) and Indonesia (28 per cent), while cruising and tour packages were of the least interest across all markets.

A bird? A plane? No, it’s 200 flying cows

China Southern Airlines has redefined the meaning of “cattle class”, with news that its cargo division has safely transported nearly 200 live purebred Holstein-Friesian cows from Seattle to Zhengzhou in China.

For several lucky bulls in Zhengzhou, love was certainly in the air. The long-haul heifers came from private farms in Quebec, Canada, and were sent to China solely for breeding purposes. China Southern Airlines' entire Boeing 747-400 freighter was packed with the nearly 200 head of purebred cattle; each weighing in at a hefty 360 kilos.

The total value of the Holstein heifers was over US$1 million.

Source:  TravelWeeklyEast.com

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