Singapore PM Lee vows to facilitate 'successful summit'
SINGAPORE ― U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are expected to meet at the Shangri-la Hotel next month,
according to industry sources and experts, Sunday.
Together with Singapore's iconic Marina Bay Sands (MBS), the Shangri-La has been viewed as one of the most likely locations for the June 12 summit, which was announced by Trump late Thursday.
According to multiple travel agencies and sources here, three hotels ― The Shangri-La, Ritz Carlton Millennia and JW Marriot South Beach ― have blocked all available rooms for the upcoming summit after the Thursday announcement.
"A day after Trump's announcement, we tried to secure rooms on the dates surrounding the summit en bloc for those coming for the summit but we heard from the three hotels that there is no room available," said a manager at a Singapore-based tour operator on condition of anonymity.
"They did not explain why but it is obvious that they stopped public sales because of the summit."
One South Korean journalist successfully booked a room at the Shangri-La Hotel for the summit through third-party booking platform Agoda Friday but received a cancellation letter Saturday.
"I lodged a strong complaint against Agoda but they replied that they had no choice because the hotel 'locked' reservations," said the journalist who is now in Singapore to report the atmosphere of the city state after the announcement.
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| The Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore/Korea Times photo by Kim Jae-kyoung |
It is unknown whether MBS also locked reservation but no rooms are available at the hotel, according to checks on the hotel website by The Korea Times.
When asked whether MBS blocked rooms, a senior executive from the hotel said, "We have no comments on the summit. Please wait for an official announcement from the government."
As opposed to these four hotels, rooms at other popular five-star hotels in the downtown and business district areas, including Pan Pacific Singapore and Mandarin Oriental, are still available, according to checks by The Korea Times, Sunday.
Given that the Shangri-La has blocked rooms and it has a proven track record of hosting numerous high-level security meetings attended by world leaders, it is highly probable that the hotel will play host to the historic meeting.
"The Shangri-La Hotel is the venue for the Shangri-La Dialogue attended by international leaders so it would be a better choice since the staff there understands how international political events are managed," Liang Tuang Nah, a research fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, told The Korea Times.
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"Also, they would be familiar with the security arrangements needed for world leaders," he added.
Since 2002, the hotel has hosted the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's high-level security annual summit attended by defense ministers and military chiefs from 28 Asia Pacific states. This year's summit will be held from June 1 to 3, just ahead of the Trump-Kim talks.
The hotel also hosted the meeting between China's President Xi Jinping and Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou in 2015.
The Shangri-La's unique location is another big plus. It is the only five-star hotel in the downtown area that public transportation, both subways and buses, do not pass by. So it is more convenient to close off the area for privacy and security.
MBS could be an option but experts said that chances are slim because of its openness to the public.
Unlike the Shangri-La, MBS has a subway station at the center of its facilities and bus stops right next to its hotel and convention center.
"Large-scale meetings attended by world leaders have been rarely held at MBS because it would be challenging to control tourists and traffic passing by the hotel facilities," said a tourism industry expert said.
Taking all things into consideration, one possible scenario would be that the summit will be held at the Shangri-La and a mega media center will be set up at MBS whose convention center houses Singapore's largest and versatile meeting space.
The unprecedented meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader is expected to attract the largest-ever media from all over the world. Over 3,000 journalists flocked to Seoul for the inter-Korean summit on April 27.
Given that rooms at Ritz Carlton Millennia and JW Marriot South Beach have been blocked, it is likely that delegation from the U.S. will unpack their bags at these hotels. Both are American companies that operate hotel chains globally.
Singapore's role
The swift room blocking at major hotels comes in tandem with the city state's pledge to successfully facilitate the Trump-Kim meeting.
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the summit would be a "historic and momentous event."
According to a statement released by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a telephone call with Trump Friday night, Lee said, "Singapore is honored to host it and will do our best to facilitate a smooth and successful meeting."
"This would be an important first step in the long process of securing lasting?peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."
In return, Trump thanked Lee for hosting the summit and hoped that the summit would contribute to resolving this long outstanding issue, the ministry said in the statement.
