Read the latest news from around the Asia-Pacific region.

In a recent podcast interview with Hotel News Now, Capella Hotel Group President Cristiano Rinaldi shared his company's plans to expand across the Asia-Pacific region and grow into Europe and the Middle East. On top of that, the company's focus on luxury and attention to detail will make it stand out, the chief executive said.

The real goal is to "keep creating wonderful experiences for our guests," he said.

"We always position ourself to a degree in a niche of experience travel, to be very honest," he said. "I think we've been really crafting the art of creating these experiences way before the pandemic. That's something Capella has always done rather successfully."

During Marriott International's third-quarter earnings call, Marriott President and CEO Tony Capuano said cross-border travel has strengthened.

Marriott expects the most upside will come from the Asia-Pacific region. International airlift to and inside Greater China was about 50% of 2019 capacity by the end of the third quarter, and it's expected to improve to about 60% by the end of the year.

"The Asia-Pacific region again saw the most meaningful quarterly increase in international visitors, aided by global events like the Women's World Cup and improved airlift," Capuano said.

In a podcast interview with Hotel News Now, STR's Jesper Palmqvist spoke about the strong recovery of travel in China and promising starts across the Asia-Pacific region.

Palmqvist, STR's senior director of Asia-Pacific, said the rebound in China isn't the news making headlines around the rest of the globe.

"If you ask people there ... domestically it's such a different story than what you read in western media," he said. "The economy is in free fall if you read other media, and our industry and others are all falling, but this summer was just a tremendous summer in travel and also in investment."

IHG Hotels & Resorts' performance during the third quarter was due in part to the continued improvement of trends in Greater China, IHG CEO Elie Maalouf said during the company's latest earnings call, reports HNN's Terence Baker.

“This is another strong trading performance, the fifth quarter of subsequential improvement, with excellent rebound in Greater China, which, too, has completed its post-pandemic recovery,” Maalouf said.

New studies from MMGY Global and Hilton indicate travelers from Asian countries have a strong intent to travel internationally, reports HNN's Sean McCracken.

MMGY's 2023 "Portrait of Asian International Travelers" survey reports international travelers from Asian countries intend to take 2.3 international trips on average over a two-year period. They expect to spend $3,223 per trip.

Hilton's 2024 Trends Report, which included a global survey done by Ipsos, highlighted positive travel sentiment spreading across Asia.

• Marriott International opened its 588-key W Sydney near Darling Harbour.
• Marriott International opened the Nha Trang Marriott Resort & Spa, Hon Tre Island, the Danang Marriott Resort & Spa, Non Nuoc Beach Villas and the Renaissance Hoi An Resort & Spa in popular tourist destinations in Vietnam.
• Hilton will expand its presence in Greater China with the introduction of its Hilton Garden Inn and DoubleTree by Hilton brands through 19 new franchise projects.
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts opened the 271-room Wyndham Grand Ijin Busan, making it the first Wyndham Grand hotel in South Korea.
• The Australian Rugby Leave Commission acquired the 71-key Quest Woolooware Bay, a serviced-apartment hotel.
• Singapore-based CapitaLand Ascott Real Estate Investment Trust sold the 196-room Courtyard by Marriott Sydney-North Ryde and the 194-room Novotel Sydney Paramatta for a combined 109 million Australian dollars ($71 million).

Read more news on Hotel News Now.