Hilton set to open Vietnam hotel amid market slump
HANOI - Hilton International Co will open a luxury
hotel in Hanoi on Friday and executives expressed confidence in the
future of the market despite an overall slump in occupancy across
Vietnam.
The $64 million Hilton Hanoi Opera will boast 269 rooms and take its
place along several top hotels to open recently in the capital. Others
include the Japanese-backed Nikko Hotel and the Meritus Westlake,
which has Singaporean interests.
``We are here for the long-term and have planned to open a Hilton in
Vietnam for a few years,'' said Valerie Jourdan, marketing
communications manager at the Hilton Hanoi Opera.
``It's unfortunate that the economic situation is down at the moment but
we believe we will make it, partly because of our location,'' she told
Reuters on Tuesday.
The hotel stands in the centre of Hanoi and overlooks the city's
majestic colonial-era Opera House.
It also lies several blocks from the remains of an infamous prison
dubbed the ``Hanoi Hilton'' by American pilots shot down and held
there during the Vietnam War. One such occupant was the current
U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Pete Peterson.
Jourdan said the hotel planned occupancy of 40 percent, a rate hotels
in the country are struggling to achieve according to figures in official
media.
No concrete details on top-end occupancy or supply were immediately
available but industry sources say rates have dropped steadily over the
past two years.
Other luxury hotels have opted to delay opening in Hanoi and the
southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City amid a 12 percent fall in
tourist and business arrivals last year to around 1.5 million people.
The Sheraton Hotel on Hanoi's picturesque West Lake was almost
finished last year but work ceased after funding from its Malaysian
investors dried up and it now stands empty.
Other hotels have found the going tough. As tourist and business
interest in Vietnam has waned, many marbled hotel lobbies remain
vacant and room rates in major cities have plunged to as low as
$70-80.
But Paul Stoll, general manager at the five-star Furama Resort on
Danang's China Beach, favoured playground of American GIs during
the Vietnam War, predicted a tourist turnaround.
He estimated arrivals of 1.8-1.9 million this year and more in
subsequent years.
Stoll praised Hanoi's recent decision to establish a tourism steering
committee headed by Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam and said
the emergence of Danang as a third entry point for international airlines
would boost arrivals.
``The steering committee will quicken decision making and is an
extremely positive sign for the industry,'' he said.
Thai Airways planned three flights a week from Bangkok to Danang in
central Vietnam from October while national carrier Vietnam Airlines
planned charter flights to Hong Kong from the middle of the year, Stoll
said.
Dragon Airlines Ltd (Dragonair) of Hong Kong also planned charter
flights to Danang, he said by telephone. Hanoi had previously given
permission for small Vietnamese carrier Pacific Airlines to fly between
Danang and Macau but an official said on Tuesday that flights had been
discontinued.
Few people doubt the potential for tourism in Vietnam.
Apart from a rich history and culture, the land is dotted with natural
beauty and architectural delights such as Hanoi and the ancient trading
port of Hoi An just south of Danang.
Reuters - February 23, 1999.
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