Golden Horse to ride on niche markets

By Sharen Kaur
Pulished in NST, February 1 2010

GOLDEN Horse Palace Bhd (GHPB), the hospitality and health arm of Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB), is banking on health tourism, golf and the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market to drive earnings this year.


Its executive director Dianna Lee said that while earnings had dropped last year because of the global meltdown and influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, the situation was improving.

GHPB manages three resorts: Palace of the Golden Horses and Mines Wellness Hotel (formerly Palace Beach & Spa), which are located within the Mines Resort City in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, and the Borneo Highlands Resort in Sarawak. The properties are owned by CHHB.

GHPB also manages CHHB's Mines Resort and Golf Club and Palace Vacation Club, which offer timeshare and membership programmes.

"Last year we saw a lot of room cancellations. Our MICE business was also affected. We believe the hospitality sector will do better in tandem with economic growth," Lee told Business Times in an interview at the Mines.

Lee expects more than 70 per cent occupancy at the two hotels this year, compared with 60 per cent last year. She is also optimistic of double-digit revenue growth for all the properties. Lee declined to reveal last year's revenue.

"We expect better room sales as we have the Asia Pacific Golf (APG) tournament taking place at the Mines in October. We have been playing host to APG for seven years so we are safe, in a sense, regardless of another crisis happening.

"But we will still need to build our overall business. We are looking at golfing and MICE. CHHB has a huge exhibition centre at the Mines and we want to use that to our advantage," Lee said.

The Mines has an 18-hole golf course, while its exhibition hall can cater for up to 15,000 people.

Lee, 23, was appointed last June to spearhead developments in GHPB. She is the second daughter of CHHB founder, Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew.

Lee is also CHHB executive director and general manager for Palace of the Golden Horses.
-ENDS