Day 2 of the International Luxury Travel Market Asia Pacific 2025 started with a breakfast at Sospiri restaurant, hosted by Belmond, operator of Venice Simplon Orient Express.
Over coffee and almond croissants, it revealed that the luxury rail and hotel operator revealed its grand plans for 2o25 which include the launch this month of its first sleeper train in the UK, Britannic Explorer, a first for England and Wales.
It will offering three- or six-night journeys with a selection of three routes through the spectacular landscapes of Cornwall, the Lake District and Wales. Read more below.
Belmond’s outlook for 2025 offers new UK sleeper train + luxury Portofino stays
A brief rundown
Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts CEO Choe Peng Sum offered insights into the plans for the Singapore-headquartered hospitality company that was founded in 1975. It operates more than 20 luxury hotels, resorts and serviced suites across Asia, North America, Oceania and Europe.
It includes the Park Royal and Park Royal Collection, plus a range of Pan Pacific hotels including the new Pan Pacific London, over 43 floors and designed by London firm PLP Architects. The hotel is part of the One Bishopsgate Plaza development, and secured a Forbes 5-start hotel rating in its first year of operation.
Other 2025 highlights include Bellustar Tokyo, a 48-storey luxury hotel in the Tokyu Kabukicho Tower in Shinjuku. It occupies the uppermost floors (39-47) of the building and features 97 rooms and suites. New venues in Japan include Pan Pacific Kyoto, and elsewhere in Asia the Pan Pacific Phnom Penh will be ready by early 2026, and Parkroyal Hanoi by 2027.
Refurbishments include Park Royal’s in Langkawai, Malacca and Jakarta. In Australia, the Pan Pacific Perth has recently undergone a $AU50 million refit as have Pan Pacific Melbourne Airport ($25m) and Pan Pacific Parramatta ($25m).
As for its sustainability credentials, “we don’t want a green wash, that’s why all our properties are GSTC certified,” he said.
Showcase sustainable Singapore properties include the Parkroyal Collection Pickering and and Parkyroyal Collection Marina Bay where 2400 trees were introduced into the building.
Other initiatives include urban farms, repurposed timbers, heat pumps, energy saving windows, and rainwater harvesting.
Its a wrap
Explora Journeys’ chief commercial officer Achille Staiano outlined the growth of the MSC-owned group from its two current Explora vessels to six ships by 2028.
All suites with balconies, some with Jacuzzi, with the ships featuring 12 bars and 5 pools, a spa with pool and six restaurants, among others options. As for other food, there are no buffets here, but an “emporio marketplace” which offers help-yourself pizzas, salads, raw fish, everything made a la carte.
“Everyone can find a spot for his own relax, his own desire and his own needs,” he said. “The ship is a shape of a superyacht that lets you feel even though it’s a ship of 250 metres that caters for 900 guests that makes you feel like you are on a private yacht.”
As for shopping, think Cartier and a Rolex boutique, the only one at sea. It features short journeys of 7, 9, 10 and 11 nights, with combined itineraries on offer to small ports. There is also a package for the F1 in Monte Carlo. The brand also launched in China last month.
Capacity on Explora’s III and IV will increase to 926.
Explora Journeys has also launched a comprehensive new digital initiative designed to empower its travel advisor community.
Explora Journeys launches new digital tool for travel advisors
Andrea Barbi Actis of Melia Hotels revealed the Mexico-born brand had now exceeded 400 hotels in more than 40 countries on 4 continents with one in three new openings being luxury.
It is now the No.1 brand in Spain and the third largest in Europe. As for green credentials it has won the S&P’s sustainability leader awards in a 2023, 2024 ans 2025. At oresent it has 42 hotels in operation in Asia and 10 in the pipeline, none in Australia, sadly but 60 per cent of the portfolio is in Vietnam.
But APAC highlights include introducing the Pardisus by Melia brand for the first time to Asia, which will open by the end of the year in Bali which While originally opened as Melia Bali more than 30 years ago, but has undergone a $US40m renovation! It will include a kids club and new concept for teenagers.
“The all-inclusive concept is evolving and changing,” she said.
Preferred Hotels, founded in 1968, is the world’s largest independent brands represent 600 hotels across 80 counties, including 98 members hotels in Asia, across four brands Legend, LVX, Lifestyle and Preferred Residences.
New additions include emerging destinations in APAC, including three new venues in India, including The Leela in Gandhinagar.
New launches in 2025 include Al Habtoor Palace in Budapest in the Legend group, and Royal Hideaway Corales Suites in Tenerife and Oros Luxury Beach resort in Crete, both for for LVX brands.
The Newman in London, a Legend hotel, launches in September 2025. with The Cooper is South Caroline, a waterfront hotel looking over the Cooper River launches in October 2025.
Other new Legend properties include Armani Hotel in Milan, Das Edelwiss in Austria, and Keswick Hall and Salamander in the US.
It has also introduced a new travel advisor portal for luxury planners to locate hotels and check on commission payments.
Japan National Tourist Organization’s Harriett Bougher said Australia’s favourite overseas holiday destination is set to experience it’s biggest visitor numbers yet, with 10 million international tourists already entering the country in the first quarter of 2025.
While there were concerns of overtourism in areas like Tokyo and Kyoto, “in the far majority of Japan, overtourism is not an issue at all”.
As yet undiscovered regions, include Hachimantai in the north and Kagoshima Aso, Unzen in the south on the island of Kyushu, with one highlight including onsen heated by local volcanoes.
Meanwhile, Tourism Australia’s Karen Fitzgerald informed the audience of several partnerships including Luxury Lodges of Australia, Great walks of Australia, Ultimate Winery Experiences, Discover Aboriginal Experiences, Great Golf Courses of Australia and Australian Wildlife journeys and Cultural Attractions of Australia.
Travel Weekly will share more details of what we discovered at ILTM Asia Pacific in the weeks ahead.
