Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) commercial district is to see new hotels in the coming years as developers and government agencies join forces to turn old buildings into lodging facilities and retail space.
“More hotels are to enter the district, which has gained popularity among young individual travelers due to relatively affordable room rates and government efforts to revive this part of the city,” Sinyi Global Management Co (信義全球資產) manager Michael Wang (王維宏) said by telephone.
The district refers to areas west of Taipei Railway Station and in the vicinity of Taipei’s Ximen MRT Station, Wang said.
Kee Tai Properties Co (基泰建設) is constructing a mixed-use building on Zhongxiao E Road with partial floors to be set aside as hotel space while the Taipei Post Office at the intersection of Boai Road and Zhongxiao W Road is seeking partners to turn its building into a complex with a hotel and creative retail space.
Image Taiwan Hotel Group (印象台灣飯店集團) has inked a deal with Taiwan Life Insurance Co (台灣人壽保險) to turn an old office building into a hotel.
Urban renewal projects drive the entry of new hotels, since the district is not fit for the development of residential complexes, Wang said, adding that office buildings might go through drastic changes amid a digitalization trend.
Huang Hsiang Construction Co (皇翔建設) has teamed up with Marriott International Inc to open a new hotel under the Renaissance brand on the former site of the Taipei Bus Station.
With the field growing increasingly competitive, tourism authorities are seeking to help by asking local hotels to support the nation’s own hotel rating system to boost their appeal.
The nation in 2009 adopted its own hotel rating system modeled after the AAA system in the US and about 500 lodging facilities have come on board since then.
The system aims to serve as a travel guide and help quality hotels attract guests, Tourism Bureau officials said, adding that the bureau’s policy goal this year is to expand membership and win international recognition.
Toward that end, the bureau is working with major travel agencies, such as Lion Travel Service Co (雄獅旅行社) and Star Travel Corp (燦星旅遊), as well as Taiwanese credit card issuers to promote visits to different parts of the nation.
The bureau has relied mainly on celebrities to promote the rating system and opted for a strategy change this year to boost efficiency, officials said.
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