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In some exciting Thailand tourism news, Thailand has performed exceptionally well in the 2017 edition of the SmartTravelAsia.com Best in Travel Poll, with Bangkok, Phuket, Ko Samui and Hua Hin all being named among the ‘Top 10 Holiday Destinations’ for Asia.

For Bangkok, Phuket and Ko Samui, this represents a sustained presence among the annual survey’s top echelon of holiday spots around the region, all three destinations having made 2016’s Top 10 list as well.

The Smart Travel Asia Best in Travel Poll 2017 also placed Bangkok and Phuket among the ‘Top 10 Cities for Meetings’ in Asia.

Thai Airways International (THAI) and Bangkok Airways each earned spots on both the ‘Top 10 Airlines Worldwide’ and ‘Top 10 Airlines, Cabin Service Worldwide’ lists. THAI, the national flag carrier, also secured a place on the ‘Top 10 Airlines, Business Class Worldwide’ ranking, while yet a third Thai airline – Nok Air – was listed among the ‘Top 10 Budget Airlines’ for Asia.

For Bangkok Airways, there was a further honour, with its airport on Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand being named among the ‘Top 10 Airports’ Worldwide.

On the accommodation scene, Thailand’s Centara Hotels and Resorts was named among the ‘Top 10 Hotel Brands’ for Asia, while the listings for the ‘Top 10 Boutique Hotels’ Asia, ‘Top 25 Business Hotels’ Asia, ‘Top 25 Conference Hotels’ Asia, ‘Top 25 Spa Hotels’ Asia, ‘Top 25 Leisure Hotels’ Asia and ‘Top 25 Family Hotels’ Asia all featured one or more hotel or resort from around Thailand.

Mr.Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said, “We couldn’t be more pleased with the awards for Thailand achieved in the Smart Travel Asia Best in Travel Poll 2017. Collectively, the various tourism-related businesses from Thailand that were named in this year’s poll rankings accounted for nearly 70 of the over 200 places up for grabs across the various poll categories. And that is great recognition and exposure for Thailand as a leading tourism destination.”

The SmartTravelAsia.com Best in Travel Poll is an independent, free and fair survey voted by the online magazine’s readers of which there are over 1.2 million worldwide.

source: TAT NEWS

Vietnam saw a record number of international arrivals in 2016 – more than 10 million tourists and a 25% increase over the previous year – and 2017 is already on track to surpass that.

During the first six months of the year, Vietnam recorded more than 6 million international arrivals, 30% increase over the same period a year earlier. It should be no surprise that the hospitality and property development sectors are expanding to cater to tourists seeking to enjoy Vietnam’s diverse attractions and rich culture.

Such figures are driving remarkable growth in the second, or holiday, home segment, with condotels (a blend of hotel and condominium: resort hotel levels of service with the independence of a condo) taking center stage.

For local and international guests this will mean an ever-increasing choice of options across the budget spectrum as resorts compete with fresh appeals.

With exciting new and established brands to experience and an abundance of new properties to choose from, at no doubt often heavily discounted rates during start-up periods, the next couple of years will be a great time to discover or rediscover Vietnam.

This is particularly true in Nha Trang, Cam Ranh, and Phu Quoc Island. Growth in these markets has been in the double digits, and with an abundance of new resort and hotel properties in the pipeline will no doubt, at some point, have to overcome a case of supply “indigestion”, just as Da Nang coped with a few years ago.

Duong Thuy Dung, chief market researcher at real estate consultancy firm CBRE, said at a recent press briefing that Da Nang has “too many” condotels and there will also be tough competition in Nha Trang and Phu Quoc.

In fact , a survey showed that 7,000 new apartments were completed in Khanh Hoa last year, and 70 percent of them were condotels. But industry insiders think that oversupply could be a problem.

Duong Thuy Dung said Da Nang will have 32,000 condotels by the end of this year, but it’s uncertain if the city will receive enough tourists to fill them.

The supply of condotels to the market in 2016 actually failed to meet demand or bolster existing tourism infrastructure, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam National Real Estate Association (VNREA), told at a workshop entitled “Condotel Market and Fears of Oversupply” held by VET on August 10 in Hanoi.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, the vice chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, is worried more about legal issues. He said Vietnam does not have comprehensive regulations regarding ownership rights and management for this form of property.

Developers are quick to name projects located in or close to a destination as condotels but the concern is the “tel” part of condotel. In many cases, we see little regard for the hotel part of the project and the long-term management implication this entails. The concern is that to have any chance of matching promised returns, projects need an impressively performing hotel component. But in most cases this seems to be missing or, at best, incomplete.

One more important things is ,according to the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency under the construction ministry, red books (documents that confirm ownership in Vietnam) are currently not issued for condotels. That puts subinvestors at high risk, experts said.

The legality of condotels needs to be clarified to better manage this new type of property gaining popularity in Vietnam, a representative from the Ministry of Construction has said.

According to Le Hoang Chau, President of the HCM City Real Estate Association, regulations are needed to ensure transparency in profit sharing in the long term and the rights of buyers, adding that profit sharing now relies mainly on developers’ guarantees, with yet a solid framework for buyers’ benefits protection.

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Manh Ha, Chairman of the Board of Management at Phu Quy Land, said the company has worked with customers from South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and they are very much interested in Vietnam and its real estate resort products but the legal framework is problematic. “An open legal corridor should be proposed for foreigners to develop condotels and exploit economic potential,” he added.

The construction ministry is working with the finance and environment ministries to come up with a specific legal framework for the new market.

Vietnam’s southern metropolis is on track to achieve 8 percent annual growth over the next five years.

Ho Chi Minh City will become the second fastest growing economy in Asia by 2021, Bloomberg cited a new study by the UK-based Oxford Economics as saying in a Wednesday report.

In the next five years, HCMC’s economy is expected to grow by 8 percent each year, according to the study, which ranked Asia’s 30 largest cities.

The city is the only non-Indian city in the top five that also includes New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad, reflecting its success in establishing itself as a manufacturing center, as well as its strong services sector, according to Bloomberg.

In January, Chicago-based financial and professional services firm JLL ranked HCMC the world’s second most dynamic city, after India’s Bangalore.

The city was categorized in the “High Potential Cities” that are driven by low costs, rapid consumer market expansion and high levels of foreign direct investment.

In the first half of 2017, the southern economic hub attracted $2.15 billion in foreign investment, double the amount it received in the same period last year, official data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

With economic expansion of 7.76 percent during that period, the city expects to hit annual growth of 8.4-8.7 percent, its leaders told local media in June.

The performance of different industries in Ho Ming City is good this year.

Ho Chi Minh City’s total retail sales and services revenue are expected to hit nearly 450 trillion VND (19.8 billion USD) in the first half of 2017, up 10.2 percent from the same period last year.

According to Nguyen Phuong Dong, deputy head of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, of the total, revenue from retail is estimated at 291 trillion VND (12.8 billion USD), 64.7 percent of the total and up 12.1 percent year-on-year.

From now until the end of this year, the department will continue measures supporting enterprises, hold a second meeting for municipal leaders and enterprises and complete industry and support industry data to help connect production businesses with distributors, Dong stated.

The department will also speed up the implementation of the supply-demand linkage programme and the “Vietnamese people prioritise using made-in-Vietnam products” campaign, and intensify promotion activities inside and outside the country.

Source: VnExpress International , Vietnam+

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his spouse chaired a ceremony to mark the 50th founding anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and 22 years of Vietnam’s accession to the bloc in Hanoi on August 8.

The PM highlighted the achievements that ASEAN has gained over the past a half century to become a strong and united community with rules-based operation and comprehensive and extensive connectivity across the fields, contributing to the maintenance of peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.

ASEAN has an increasing role and position in the region and beyond, he said, adding that the association is also playing a crucial role in the evolving regional architecture.

The bloc should reinforce solidarity and unity, promote internal strength to increase its connectivity and build a rules-based community with the widespread participation of people to bring them with pragmatic benefits, he recommended.

 With a population of over 630 million and the total gross domestic product (GDP) of nearly 2.6 trillion USD per year, ranking sixth in the world, along with a peaceful and stable environment, ASEAN is a spotlight of economic cooperation in the Asian-Pacific region and the world at large.

“The achievements that ASEAN has gained over the past 50 years are very huge, creating a firm foundation for the development of the ASEAN Community and the realisation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025,” he said.

He affirmed that Vietnam always considers ASEAN a prioritized pillar in its foreign policy and vows to continue accompanying the bloc’s member states to build the ASEAN Community of unity, peace, stability and strength and successfully accomplish the ASEAN Vision 2025 and blueprints, contributing to maintaining peace and stability, and stepping up cooperation and development in the region.

On the occasion, he also thanked the bloc’s partners, international organizations and friends for their cooperation and support for the ASEAN member states over the past time, and wished that the Ambassadors and officials of the international organizations would continue acting as an effective bridge for their countries and organizations and Vietnam and ASEAN.

Addressing the ceremony, Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Noel Servigon stressed that one of ASEAN’s big achievements over the past five decades is developing into a strong bloc, which has been acknowledged and respected globally, from a five-member organization.

He highly valued Vietnam’s organization of numerous activities to mark ASEAN’s 50th founding anniversary in many localities and informed participants of the successful outcomes of the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings.

source: Vietnam+

The economy of Japan is already boosting, together with the Tokyo Olympics Game 2020, numerous high speed rails connecting the districts, expansion of the airport, and the planning of building a casino, the now stable property price is vowed to skyrocket. Golden Emperor held a seminar, in which, professionals made an in-depth analysis on the current property market and share insights into investment. HY’s Crecer, a quality residential project was launched at the same time. The property is located at the prime location of Tokyo, adjacent to the CBD, and only takes 3 to 5 stops to reach the business hub or trending hot spots, this event attracted many investors.

Above: Many investors attended the weekend exhibition.

Above: Terence Chan, Director of Golden Emperor, provided a presentation on investing in Tokyo.

Above: A latest property project from Tokyo, the HY’s Crecer also be featured at this event.

Above: Our clients in Hong Kong had first pick of units.