21 June, 2008
By EILEEN HEE

Tune Hotels Regional Services Sdn Bhd has invested RM20mil in its new Tune Hotels.com LCCT, which is sited in the vicinity of the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).

According to founder and director Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, the hotel is targeted to open in early 2009 and would cater to about 20 million passengers a year at the LCCT.

"The group aims to have 100 hotels up and running within three years and these would include sites outside Malaysia, such as Kuta and Legian in Bali, as well as locations in the Philippines and Thailand," he told reporters after the ground-breaking ceremony for Tune Hotels.com LCCT yesterday.

"In Manila, we have found a site behind the US embassy and there is also another site that we are finalising," chief executive officer Mark Lancaster said. "In Thailand, there will be a Tune Hotels.com each in Bangkok, Pattaya and possibly in the next week or so in Phuket."

The Tune Hotels.com flagship hotel in Kuala Lumpur was launched in May 2007, followed by Tune Hotels.com 1Borneo Kota Kinabalu in April this year.

Other hotels under the Tune.Hotels.com chain in Malaysia will be launched in Ipoh, Penang, Johor Baru and Miri.

The new six-floor hotel at the LCCT would have 222 rooms, with the ground floor housing the lobby and food and beverage retail outlets.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd senior operations general manager Datuk Azmi Murad said there was still "positive growth' in terms of passenger movements at the LCCT and KL International Airport.

He said the overall passenger traffic grew 78% in April/May 2008 compared with a year earlier, while traffic at the LCCT was up by 30%.

"For the third quarter, people have planned their travel. If there is a slowdown, it could be in the fourth quarter due to fare increases," he said.

This article is a verbatim copy of the original article from The Star.