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.
The number of Taiwanese working in the US rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released yesterday. A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid US-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the US, Japanese, German and Chinese governments over the past two years for its global expansion. Financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from the governments in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters of the year to about NT$71.9 billion. Along with the NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received last year, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed. The subsidies received by its subsidiaries —
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