YOKOHAMA, Japan & Singapore--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The TUV Rheinland Group is pleased to announce that it has further expanded its service portfolio for the Hospitality & Tourism industry.

Recent international incidents have changed the attitude and expectations of those who travel and therefore the way the tourism sector operates. In light of this TUV Rheinland has developed new services that focus on eco-tourism, safety and security, service quality and the wellness and spa sector. These services help tourism operators and hotels distinguish their services from the competition and highlight excellence. After successful pilot projects in several countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Taiwan, the TUV Rheinland Group is confident that it has developed a suite of services to meet the expectations and unique needs of the growing tourism sector.

At the forefront of these new services is the "Eco-Hotel Certification". Successful assessments have been conducted at some of Singapore's leading hotels including, the Fairmont Singapore, swissôtel The Stamford and the Siloso Beach Resort Pte Ltd. In the second stage, TUV Malaysia will conduct audits for the Holiday Villa Hotel Subang and the Paradise Sandy Beach Resort. With this new service, TUV Rheinland hopes to promote, manage and monitor the development of eco-friendly tourism services.

"Each of our services can be conducted independently, but can also be integrated and combined, eliminating the duplication of work, saving time and money", says Mr. Marius Stepien, responsible for the development of the business in Asia. The audits are conducted by "Mystery guests" as well as formal on-site assessments including back office document checks and employee interviews. The evaluation system is multidimensional with mandatory questions as well as supplementary bonus questions. With a wealth of experience in Mystery assessments and with an extensive international network of experienced auditors, TUV Rheinland offers a One-Stop Shopping portfolio covering all eventualities of the business.

The new service portfolio will be presented during the International Tourism Fair, ITB in Singapore from October 21-23 2009.

With more than 1,000 certifications for hotels and tourism operators in 21 countries as of 2009, the TUV Rheinland Group offers a wide variety of services in the areas of tourism, health and recreational facilities. These range from training and staff qualification to the checking of data security for electronic booking procedures, the certification of quality management systems for wellness resorts, health spas, hotels, tourist offices, cruise ships and fitness studios as well as technical checking for airlines, ski resorts and amusement parks.

***** Outline of Services *****

[Eco-hotel]

Demonstrate your commitment towards sustainability and ecological preservation! In 2008 more than 53 million tourists chose an environmental-friendly location. Display your achievements after passing an independent verification and save costs by optimizing your energy and resource management system.

[Safety & Security]

Your guests expect it but how can they be sure? Hotel-SAS risk analysis includes Physical Security, Food Safety, Information Security and Business Continuity Planning. It is a new certificate based on international standards, such as ISO 22000, ISO 28000, ISO/IEC 27001, BS 25999, and more. Invest in prevention rather than recovery.

[Service Quality]

Guests talk about their experiences - positive or negative. Let us help you verify and improve the quality of your services - from booking to checkout. Openly assessed throughout your organization or discreetly checked as one of your guests.

[Wellness & Spa]

Personalized care and comfort is expected to be worth a trillion US Dollars by 2010. Disappointed guests can endanger your market image. Show how much you care for your guests by independently assessing your service performance with our wellness quality evaluation program.

TUV Rheinland Group: An independent, international certification body that delivers services such as safety testing and certification of products as well as certification of company management systems. The company was founded in 1872 with its headquarters located in Cologne, Germany. It is represented in over 490 locations in 61 countries worldwide. With a workforce of more than 13,300, it had a turnover of approx. €1.1 billion in 2008.

TUV Rheinland Japan (Head Office in Shin-Yokohama, Japan, President Ralf Wilde): The headquarters of the TUV Rheinland Group in the Asian region. The company started operations in 1978 and was incorporated in 1983. At present, it has eight offices in Japan, including offices in Yokohama and Osaka. It now has about 400 employees who generated a revenue of 7.6 billion yen in 2008.