In for the long haul

With a focus on the business travel market, Shangri-La made its first foray into Hainan province, an up-and-coming MICE destination, last November with the launch of a Haikou hotel conveniently located next to the Hainan International Exhibition Center.

"Increasingly, we see the domestic corporate market choosing Hainan for key meetings, conferences and incentive travel," says Sekercioglu. "It is the only place in China that enjoys an authentic tropical climate, which makes it an unbeatable MICE destination during the winter months."

China has tapped Hainan to become a leading international tourism resort destination. With luxuriant forests, a pristine coastline and tropical charm, the island is known as "the Hawaii of China". The provincial capital Haikou is a business and transportation hub, which makes it an ideal location for major conferences and meetings, he says.

The Shangri-La Haikou caters to that market with its comprehensive, state-of-the art meeting facilities, Sekercioglu says. One of the its stand-out venues is the Hall of Splendor, set in the hotel's 30,000-square-meter tropical garden and featuring floor-to-ceiling windows that offer dramatic sea views. The property also boasts a pillar-free, 986-square-meter Grand Ballroom that is the largest among the city's starred hotels.

Shangri-La also plans to open a property in the Hainan resort town of Sanya along the 5-mile Haitang Bay beach within the next year. The 503-room property, set among landscaped gardens, will be Shangri-La's first beach resort in China.

One of Shangri-La's most-anticipated openings will occur much sooner - the Jing An Shangri-La will be launched in June on West Nanjing Road, home to one of the largest business districts in the city. The hotel occupies the top 29 floors of a 60-story tower set within the Jing An Kerry Center, a mixed-use development that also includes office space, retail shops and designer restaurants and bars.