The winners of the 2010 AsiaSpa Awards were announced at a glamorous gala awards ceremony held in Hong Kong last Thursday.

Themed “Emerald Green”, more than 400 of the industry’s top professionals mingled in Hong Kong’s newest design hotel, The Mira.

The coveted title of Destination Spa of the Year went to Koh Samui’s Kamalaya while the MiraSpa took home top honours as the year’s Best Urban Spa.

The ranks of Asia-Pacific millionaires are likely to continue growing faster than those from developed countries as regional economies led by China and India power ahead, a report said on Tuesday.

The study on high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) — defined as anyone with investable assets of at least one million US dollars — was issued by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and consultancy firm Capgemini.

“Moving forward, China and India will lead the way in the region with economic expansion and HNWI growth likely to keep outpacing more developed economies,” the Asia-Pacific Wealth Report said.

Veuve Clicquot is giving champagne lovers something new to do with their phones with the launch of the Veuve Clicquot QR Code in Hong Kong.

A quick refresher on QR codes for the uninitiated. QR codes are a very useful tool for pointing people to more information about your product.

You take a photo of the two-dimensional bar code with your phone and you are automatically taken to the web site that is embedded in the code.

Asia-Pacific consumers are the world’s most prolific online shoppers and many rely on Internet reviews when making purchases according to Nielsen.

The firm said 35 percent of consumers in the region used over 11 percent of their monthly spending to make online purchases, compared to a global average of 27 percent of consumers.

South Koreans were the heaviest online buyers in Asia, with 59 percent directing more than 11 percent of their monthly spending to online purchases, followed by 41 percent in China, Nielsen said in a report.

After a tumultuous few years, Regent Hotels and Resorts is looking to return to its roots, the company has announced, opening more properties in Asia.

The brand was the first to introduce concepts such as the five-fixture bathroom, hotel shopping malls and villa resorts which have now become standard in luxury hotels.

The brand is now looking to revive its glory days since being purchased by Formosa International Hotels from Carlson, which owns Radisson and Park Plaza.

Asia-Pacific millionaires are collectively worth more than their European counterparts for the first time, with the rich in China and India leading the way.

The report on high-net worth individuals (HNWIs) — defined as anyone with investible assets of at least one million US dollars — was issued by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and consultancy firm Capgemini.

The world’s population of HNWIs returned to 10 million in 2009, with the largest concentrations still found in the United States, Japan and Germany.

“The Asia-Pacific HNWI population rose 25.8 percent overall to three million, catching up with Europe for the first time, after falling 14.2 percent in 2008″.