As the Central Asia & Turkey Hotel Investment Conference begins in Istanbul, it seems worthwhile to take a look at notable recent developments in the city and Turkey as a whole. On our sister site Hotel Management, we looked at some recent projects in Istanbul from late 2011, and one month and one week into 2012, the city has already seen some significant projects announced.
A major announcement at the Conference is that Hilton Worldwide has signed development agreements to open four new hotels across Turkey, taking its development pipeline to 13 and the number of hotels, either operating or under development in the country to 33, according to FreshBusinessThinking.com. Last year, the brand opened hotels in Turkey, with 10 expected to open in the coming 12 months under the company’s upscale Hilton and DoubleTree by Hilton brands, and its mid-scale Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton brands.
Starwood’s ‘lifestyle’ brand Le Méridien opened the doors of a flagship hotel in the region on January 30, RusTourismNews is reporting. Le Méridien Istanbul Etiler remarks the company’s passion for contemporary arts and inspring guest experience. Radisson Blu has four properties in Turkey: Istanbul Bospherus, Istanbul Airport, Ankara and Cesme, and four new hotels are under development in Istanbul. And finally, Focus on Travel News is reporting that Astaş Holding signed an agreement with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group for the branding and operation of a Resort Hotel, Villa and Residence project to be completed in 2013 with a targeted opening date of the first half of 2014 at Cennet Koyu (Paradise Bay), Bodrum.
The development boom follows a marked increase in tourism to the city: The number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul has reached 8 million in 2011, according to Hurriyet Daily News. According to a statement released by the Istanbul Culture and Tourism Department, number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul surpassed eight million. In 2010, 6.9 million foreign tourists had visited Istanbul.
