InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) is to launch a new luxury property, InterContinental Kaohsiung, in the fourth quarter, unfazed by a business freeze in the local hospitality industry amid a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert.
Sited in the heart of Asia New Bay Area (亞洲新灣區) and directly managed by IHG, the hotel is to offer 253 guest rooms, five restaurants and bars, two-story banquet and meeting spaces, and a Club InterContinental Lounge, the company said.
IHG has appointed Robbert Manussen to be the property’s general manager, taking advantage of his 15 years of management experience in hotel chains in Austria, the Czech Republic, South Korea, the Netherlands, Qatar, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates.
IHG is optimistic that Kaohsiung would grow into a smart city, so has positioned InterContinental Kaohsiung as an innovative smart-luxury hotel, it said.
Microsoft Taiwan, Cisco Taiwan and Amazon Web Services have announced plans to invest in the Asia New Bay Area, Chinese-language media reports have said.
“I would like to thank Taiwan for its efforts to combat the coronavirus,” Manussen said, adding that he looks forward to Kaohsiung’s transformation.
The site is near several tourist spots, including the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center, Pier 2 Art Center, the Kaohsiung Music Center, the Kaohsiung Esports Arena, Kaohsiung Public Library and the yet-to-open Kaohsiung Port Cruise Terminal.
Individual guest rooms of 46.5m2 to 60.4m2 are to be priced from NT$6,800 per night and equipped with digital voice control systems that respond to Chinese, English and Japanese, speakers with Bluetooth connectivity, new-generation hair dryers and child-friendly amenities, InterContinental Kaohsiung said.
The hotel design is inspired by Kaohsiung’s harbor and ocean backdrops to symbolize the interconnectedness of all the continents, it said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed global travel and tourism as people assign more importance to health and wellness, Manussen said.
InterContinental Kaohsiung will adopt high-standard hygiene protocols, using hospital-grade disinfectants and placing sanitizer stations at high-contact points throughout the hotel, the company said.
InterContinental Kaohsiung will also follow the guidelines of health authorities at home and abroad to remain up-to-date on pandemic issues, it said.
Manussen said he believes in the growth potential of Taiwan’s hospitality industry in light of the nation’s effective virus control measures and self-disciplined people.
Guests would be able to immerse themselves in the city’s local culture, explore hidden tourist gems and embark on city tours, InterContinental Kaohsiung said.
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS