By IANS,
New Delhi : Hilton Hotels Corp plans to add 300 hotels in Asia in the next decade in a bid to match its rivals, and take advantage of a business and leisure travel boom in India and China, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The value of those hotels would be in the tens of billions of dollars, Hilton chief executive and president Chris Nassetta told the Journal.
Hilton already owns 47 hotels in Asia.
As part of its expansion plans, Hilton will focus initially on India, where it has a joint venture with local property company DLF Ltd, which wants to open 75 hotels in the next five years, Nassetta told the paper.
“Starting in India’s big cities, where population density limits the availability of land suitable for international-standard hotels, Hilton plans to introduce its Hilton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn brands,” Nassetta was quoted as saying.
It wants to add 18 hotels in the next four years to the five it already runs in China, the newspaper reported.
Both India and China are “in their absolute infancy” as hotel markets, so Hilton should be able to catch up quickly with other chains, Nassetta told the Journal from Hilton’s regional headquarters in Singapore.