Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. one of the world`s largest international hotel operators, continues its aggressive expansion in India, announcing the addition of 14 new hotels in India by 2011 at the recent Starwood Expo event in New Delhi. The hotels under development include the first aloft hotel in India as well as the continued expansion of the Sheraton and Westin brands. Starwood currently operates 21 hotels in India, including 7 Luxury Collection hotels, 8 Le Meridien hotels, 4 Sheraton hotels, 1 Westin and 1 Four Points by Sheraton hotel. The 14 new hotels include 3 new Sheratons, 6 new Westins and 5 aloft hotels in India by 2011. “We remain focused on growing our presence in India, opening the right properties in the right places with the right partners. We see tremendous growth opportunities for us in the various key and emerging cities in India and are also excited to be able to introduce our brands including the newly launched aloft hotels, as well as Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton and Westin into other cities of India. These brands will bring a new lifestyle to the cities they are located in, and offer business and leisure travelers distinctively unique and memorable experiences for their future travel,” commented Don Elliot, Regional Vice President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts in India, Nepal and Bangladesh region. This year, Starwood will open three new Westins in Pune, Hyderabad and Mumbai, as well as the first Four Points by Sheraton in India with the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai, Vashi. Recent reports have shown strong inbound, outbound and domestic tourism in India. India is also actively promoting itself as a top tourist destination, with road shows being held in countries such as Japan, Singapore, Thailand, UK and US. The hospitality sector, too, has got together to attract foreign visitors under the Visit India 2009 programme. By targeting the emerging and key business and leisure travel destinations in India, Starwood is positioning itself to accommodate this surge in tourism. “As the Indians travel domestically and abroad, we know you will look for brands you know, and therefore Starwood`s development in India today has significant implications for our hotels worldwide,” added Elliot.
