Hong Kong's Regal Airport Hotel secured the top spot for the third year in a row and was also named the best airport hotel in Asia.

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Nearly everyone of note stayed at the stately Strand hotel which boasted one of the finest European restaurants in Asia an enclave of European style founded by the same Armenian family who owned Singapore's Raffles.

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Travel bookings increased by 44% during the quarter compared with the year before, thanks in part to strong hotel bookings in new markets in the South America and Asia-Pacific regions.

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Over the long term the SARS outbreak will add friction to the cost of doing business in Asia, much as impromptu shoe checks, cargo inspections and travel jitters followed Sept. 11 in the U.S. Hotel business in Asia fell 25% from February to March.

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The dispute took center stage earlier this month when defense officials from 28 Asia-Pacific nations gathered at the Shangri-La hotel in Singapore.

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In another key aspect of her new strategy, Ms. McDonald has limited her target group of customers to head chefs, sommeliers and luxury hotel managers in Europe, the Mideast and Asia.

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He's moving into Asia and the Middle East and plans a new Four Seasons Hotel in Moscow.

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"There is intense competition for what turns out to be a narrow segment that has the skills we are looking for, " said Jim Pilarski, the head of HR for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa for hotel chain operator Marriott International Inc.

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Cigen, its Hong Kong-registered hospitality arm, is a partner in Taj Asia, part of India's Taj hotel chain, a Tata affiliate that runs luxury resorts in the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

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