Hilton Hotel Uk

Hilton man has high hopes for NZ

Hotel giant Hilton Worldwide has opened two Queenstown properties as part of plans for aggressive growth in the Asia-Pacific region, despite a stuttering global recovery.

The hotel group has 72 properties in 17 countries within the region and 107 under various stages of development.

Martin Rinck, president for Asia Pacific for Hilton Worldwide, said the intention was to increase the portfolio to 300 hotels in the Asia-Pacific region within four years.

The region includes India, China and New Zealand.

The Hilton Queenstown and neighbouring Kawarau Hotel are both managed by the company and officially opened last week.

Rinck said India had fewer branded hotel rooms than Manhattan, while China had 50 cities with more than one million inhabitants.

China was the most important growth market for Hilton outside of the US, while the outbound market was expected to quadruple during the next couple of years, Rinck said.

Statistics New Zealand data shows short-term overseas visitor arrivals for the year ended May from China were up 27.5 per cent to 130,408, with India up 13.3 per cent to 29,992.

The UK and US - the second and third biggest markets - were down 11.4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively for the year at 221,483 and 189,250 visitors.

"I'm absolutely convinced the inbound from Australia, from the UK, from the US will continue to prosper, while at the same time seeing a growth in China and Southeast Asia and India in particular," he said.

"Some people are talking about the double dip [recession] ... and getting concerned about the housing market and general GDP growth.

"I'm perhaps more on the optimistic side. But I think it will be a cautious but steady recovery that will see those markets [like the US and UK] also on a continual growth trajectory."

The Christchurch earthquake would have a temporary impact.

"Tourism is very resilient and tourism will come back," he said.

"The human mind works in such a way that those things will be forgotten and people will continue to travel here and tourism will be on the rise again."

The impact of the Japanese natural disaster was a tougher question.

"It's probably more a 12 to 18 months turnaround [for Hilton's hotel business]," he said.

The company's hotels in India would rise from two last year to 10 by the end of this year and that would not satisfy demand.

"The potential that you have to grow further in emerging markets in this part of the world is incredible and I think we will see that pace of growth continue for at least another five to 10 years before we see a slowing of the current curve.

John Lennon's Golden Rim Glasses up for UK Auction « UK Auctioneers

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"John Lennon wire glasses 1966 sunglass no lens, given to myself producer Nipon TV Network, at time translator for Beatles at Tokyo Hilton John Lennon wore sunglasses at Budokan for shows had silver glass too he gave me this I gave copper cups to him very nice man lens removed when he die (black) as I/we feel he see us after death in Japan.  Regards Junishi Yore Producer NTV Tokyo Japan Nipon Television 1984".

June 1966, The Beatles embark on their Far Eastern tour and arrive into a Far Eastern frenzy as a decision to allow them to play five concerts at the sacred site of Budokan caused offence.  This leads to the four being holed-up in the Tokyo Hilton Hotel as virtual prisoners with only their translator and famous photographer and personal friend, Bob Whittaker for company.  Their translator was Junishi Yore who was a television producer for Japanese Nipon TV.  By the time The Beatles depart Tokyo John and Junishi had become close friends and at the end they exchange gifts.  John gave to Junishi his trade mark gold rimmed circular sunglasses, immortalised by Bob Whittaker's portraits.  For the following 14 years Junishi treasured his friend's gift but then in December 1980 when John Lennon was shot and murdered by Mark Chapman a devastated Junishi, honouring Japanese tradition, pushed the dark lenses out of the frames with his thumbs so that "he could see us after death".  In 1984 Junishi Yore sold the glasses to a memorabilia dealer/shop in Japan, and a handwritten note from Junishi validates the provenance of these glasses and reads as follows:-