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International hospitality company, Hilton Worldwide, will expand its presence in the targeted growth markets of India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
The world’s largest hotelier by number of rooms currently has 14 hotels in India and another 18 under construction due to higher demand for accommodations on the back of a rebounding business sentiment.
Hilton, as cited in a Bloomberg report, also forecasts that Japan’s flourishing tourism scene would lead to a shortage of hotel rooms. In fact, the number of foreign tourist arrivals soared by 47 percent to nearly 20 million in 2015 and the government projects that the uptrend will continue until the Tokyo Olympic Games by 2020.
“Japan has great growth potential and for the first time in a long time offers once again opportunities for new builds,” said Hilton’s President for Asia-Pacific Martin Rinck. Prime Minister Shinzō Abe’s strategy to devalue the yen “has had a very positive impact on travel and tourism, resulting in a strong increase in inbound travel,” he explained.
But among Asian markets, the company plans to open the most number of hotels in China, given a surge in domestic and international visitors.
In the coming years, Hilton targets to operate 206 hotels there, which is more than 75 percent of the 266 total it is intending to add in the Asia Pacific region. That is also nearly three times the 71 hotels it presently has in China.
The major expansion in China is attributed to its vibrant tourism sector both domestically and internationally, with 200 million Chinese expected to travel to other countries by 2020 from 109 million in 2015, added Rinck.
Additionally, the rising purchasing power of Chinese travelers has ignited demand for hospitality properties by Chinese investors. For instance, China’s Anbang Insurance Group offered US$78 (S$106.06) per share or a total of US$13.2 billion (S$17.95 billion) to takeover Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which owns the hotel brands W, Westin, Sheraton and St. Regis.
However, Marriott International raised its previous offer for Starwood from US$63.74 (S$86.67) per share to US$79.53 (S$108.14) per share or a total of US$13.6 billion (S$18.49 billion).
Marriott’s higher bid was accepted by Starwood on Monday (21 March).
Image: Hilton Hotel Singapore
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg
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