By IANS
New Delhi : Global hotel chain Marriott International Monday said it will piggyback on India's fast-growing hospitality industry and triple its hotels projects to 21 properties by 2010.
Of the 15 Marriott hotels scheduled to open in India, three will be JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton in the luxury tier and one Marriott and Renaisssance in the deluxe category, the company said in a statement.
The group also intends to open one Marriott executive apartments for extended stay travellers and eight Courtyard hotels, the company statement added.
"All hotels will operate under long-term management contracts. Currently, the company's portfolio in India consists of six hotels under five brands and 1,534 rooms," the statement said.
The cities where the projects will come up include Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Noida, Pune, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
"Our goal is to appeal to a wide range of travellers, both those visiting India as well as local travellers within India," Ed Fuller, president and managing director of Marriott International, said.
"We are excited to be part of India's emergence as an economic and tourism leader in Asia."
Marriott began operations in India in 1999 with the opening of the 178-room resort in Goa and followed it up with the 177-unit Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments in Mumbai in 2001.