IHG spreads its wings in Vietnam

Jan Smits, managing director of IHG Australasia, said that emerging markets like Vietnam represented solid, long-term growth opportunities, especially with the rise in low-cost carriers and routes, which have helped to fuel regional travel in Asia-Pacific.

“Vietnam is forecasting a 35 per cent increase in visitor arrivals compared to last year. The government’s commitment to improving infrastructure and developing new tourist destinations, such as Phu Quoc, will also increase the appeal of Vietnam as a destination,” Smits said.

Holiday Inn Resort Phu Quoc Duong Dong Beach sits on a three hectare beachfront site and  will have 250 rooms. Construction will begin in August 2011 and the resort is expected to open in mid 2014.

This will dovetail with the government’s expansion plans for Phu Quoc, which includes a new international airport, a seaport and various entertainment facilities. The airport is scheduled to be operational by 2012.

Le Ngoc Long, chairman of Long Beach Group - which owns Lucky Star Joint Stock Company and the investor of the Holiday Inn Resort Phu Quoc, said the company foresaw strong demand for quality accommodation in Phu Quoc as this was a destination with all the attributes of a tourist paradise.

“Together with the strength of the Holiday Inn brand and its world renowned standards, we will be able to offer travellers what they are looking for,” Long said.

The site for Holiday Inn Resort Cam Ranh Bay has 170m of this beach frontage. The resort will have about 250 rooms and occupy 70,000sqm of the 174,227sqm plot of land, which will also feature high-end residential and commercial properties.

Construction is slated to begin in June 2011 and the resort is expected to open in the third quarter of 2013.

Cam Ranh Bay is foreseen to be a new holiday destination in compliment with Nha Trang. Previously utilised as a military base, Cam Ranh is now being planned to be exclusively a vacation spot.