Thai hospitality group adding 11 properties in Asia this year
ONYX Hospitality Group, a Thai-based hotel management company, is planning to add 11 hotels, resorts, and serviced apartments this year in Asia, including five in Southeast Asia, said its CEO Yuthachai Charanachitta.
It will open three properties in Malaysia, two in China, and one each in the Maldives, Thailand, Japan, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong SAR, Yuthachai said.
The company expects to generate up to 8.8 billion baht in revenue this year, a 60% rise from last year. Its revenue reached 7 billion baht in 2019, but plunged to 3 billion baht in 2020, during the first year of the pandemic.
It owns the Amari, OZO, and Shama brands, among others. The company operates 44 properties, most (82%) under management contracts. It owns the rest.
Yuthachai said Southeast Asia remains its focus as it is Asia’s most popular region for tourism, adding that the region’s tourism industry was one of the first to bounce back.
“Travellers and expatriates are eyeing the region for holidays, businesses, or new homes,” Yuthachai said.
Malaysia is a compelling market for hospitality businesses due to its size and high spending power and substantial inflow of business travellers, he said.
China, by contrast, has not yet seen a full recovery in its tourism sector despite its reopening, he said, adding that foreign vacations were primarily limited to wealthy Chinese nationals.
ONYX is positioning itself to be the top medium-sized hotel management company in Southeast Asia. Its customers are primarily from outside the region, Yuthachai said, listing the United Kingdom, Germany, and Russia as its top three markets in that order.
Thanachart Bank has forecast that Thailand will receive 28 million foreign tourists this year and that they will generate about 2.2 trillion baht in income.
Yuthachai, however, said three impediments could hinder the growth of the tourism industry: the war between Russia and Ukraine, inflation, and the high cost of living.
Thailand’s air pollution problem is not a major problem because it is temporary, he said.
ONYX is in talks with low-cost airlines to develop promotions and marketing campaigns to attract more tourists to the region, Yuthachai said.
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