Hilton International confident of long term growth in Asia Pacific

The tourism industry may be reeling from the triple blow of SARS, terrorism and war, but the slump has not stopped one of the world's most well-known hotel brands, Hilton, from being confident about the future.

Emerging from a two-day strategy meeting at his Singapore-based office, Hilton International's President for Asia Pacific, Mr Koos Klein, confirmed that plans for another 14 properties, including 11 new hotels and 3 reflags, are forging ahead. There are currently 36 Hilton International Hotels operating in the Asia Pacific region.

"Our mission is to have a Hilton presence in every destination our customers want to be in, and SARS or war has not changed this. These are cautious times, but we are moving ahead with developments that will position the company for recovery."

Two new flagship hotels scheduled to open in the second half of 2004 include the 580-room Hilton Sydney, which is being rebuilt at a cost of AUD$400 million, and the 500-room Hilton Kuala Lumpur in KL Sentral.

Hilton will also continue to expand its leisure offerings in the Asia Pacific as part of its strategy to establish a network of resorts that comprise 20 percent of all Hilton properties by 2010.

"We are investing a lot of resources to develop our Hilton Worldwide Resorts portfolio, with plans confirmed for seven new Hilton Resorts in Thailand, Philippines and the South Pacific. These are located in some of the world's most exotic locations and will benefit from long-term growth in tourism."