Resort Development Heats Up In Asia

By Karyn Strauss, Senior Editor -- HOTELS Magazine, 4/1/2007

Resort development across Asia is gaining ground. While established Asian companies, including Six Senses Resorts & Spas, Anantara, Banyon Tree and Aman con-tinue to expand their offerings, many Western hotel com-panies are looking to now diversify their product mix and add resorts to their growing portfolios. Thailand continues to be a top destination for resort development with several brands, including InterContinental and Conrad adding new resorts this year. Vietnam is looking to capture a similar vacation-going demographic with is miles of pristine coast-line and several new resort developments, including the luxury Nam Hai managed by GHM Hotels. Bali, mean-while, is moving further away from its terror-struck past and regaining international attention, with year-on-year for-eign visitor arrivals for November and December 2006 up by 81.6% and 61.9%, respectively. Meanwhile, established luxury outposts in the Indian Ocean such as Goa, Mauri-tius, the Maldives and the Seychelles are poised for greater luxury resort development from the likes of Fairmont Raf-fles International and Starwood, while Hainan Island-China's "Hawaii"-is an up-and-coming resort destination. Below is a round up of some of the newest development deals under way. 

Banyan Tree Holdings has obtained formal approval to develop a US$270 million resort near the beachside city of Danang on Vietnam's central coast. The Laguna Vietnam master plan complex would include a Banyan Tree resort and spa, an Angsana resort and spa, a golf hotel and 18-hole golf course. Two more hotels will be operated by other brands. Residential villas and other housing will also be of-fered for sale.

Outrigger Enterprises Group plans to manage a brand-new luxury condo-resort property in Bali, called the Out-rigger Panorama Bali Resort & Spa. The new resort is Out-rigger's second project in Bali; Outrigger also plans to manage the Outrigger O-CE-N Resort in Legian, Bali, which is slated to open in mid-2007.

Luxury operator Aman Resorts Ltd has signed an agreement to develop an Aman Resort in South Johor, Ma-laysia. Opening in 2009, it will be Aman's first hotel in Malaysia.

Minor International's Anantara resort brand opened in the Maldives opened in September 2006 and Anantara Re-sort Bentota, Sri Lanka will open in late 2007. In Vietnam, the Anantara Hoi An is under development and the com-pany intends for "at least three more properties in the coun-try," according to Michael Sagild, chief operating officer for Minor. According to Sagild, the company is currently looking for other opportunities to expand the brand in the Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar and Zanzibar.

With 18 hotels in China, Kempinski is the second largest luxury operator in the country. Expanding into new resort destinations, the company recently opened the Kempinski Sanya on China's Hainan Island. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group also is opening a hotel in Sanya. This Hawaii of China is expected to see a signficiant boom in tourism this year.

InterContinental has signed on to develop its first resort in Hua Hin, Thailand. The resort, expected to open in late 2008, complements the brand's Asia Pacific portfolio, which includes properties in Bali, Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea.

Raffles Hotels & Resorts announced that it will manage Raffles Resort Konottaa, a luxury resort at Gaafu Alifu atoll, in southern Maldives. Scheduled to open in 2008, Raffles Resort Konottaa will feature 49 duplex villas with individual plunge pools, a RafflesAmrita spa, and a variety of food and beverage outlets. A 2011 opening of the Raf-fles Raffles Da Nang in Vietnam is also planned.

Hilton Hotels has signed an agreement to manage the Conrad Koh Samui Resort and Spa in Thailand, scheduled to open in late 2008. The resort will comprise 79 villas and 39 Conrad Residential villas. Additional features include fine-dining restaurants, bars and lounges, a Thai spa as well as meeting facilities.