Shangri-La Hotels And Resorts Expansion Prompts Appointment Of First European Pr Director

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts announces today the appointment of Helen Oakeley as the group's first Director of Public Relations for Europe. Based in Shangri-La's European head office in Chiswick, West London and reporting to Group Director of Public Relations, Julia Record, Helen's role will be to raise Shangri-La's profile across Europe, with particular attention to the UK, Germany and France, in the corporate, conference and incentive, leisure and travel trade sectors.

This is the first time Shangri-La has had dedicated public relations in the European market and the appointment has been prompted by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts' expansion drive. The group aims to double the number of hotels it operates by 2005 and has recently announced three new management agreements within China in Nanjing, Zhongshan and Zhengzhou, further strengthening the group's dominant position in the mainland, where it will shortly have 18 hotels. Although Asia remains Shangri-La's focus, the group is also keen to have a presence in the key gateway cities of Europe and North America, as well as the Middle East, where Shangri-La has just announced two new hotels, in Oman and Dubai, in addition to the Shangri-La Dubai, due to open in 2002.

Helen Oakeley has worked in travel PR for 13 years, starting with travel specialist consultancy Scott Gold Blyth in 1988, later moving with one of SGB's directors, Bronwyn Gold Blyth, to help establish BGB & Associates in 1991 as an associate director. Helen joined Citibank Diners Club Europe in 1994 as Head of Public Relations and more recently spent three years as PR Manager Europe for Utell, the world's leading hotel representation company, managing European publicity for its merger with Anasazi to become REZsolutions, Inc., and its subsequent purchase by Pegasus.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, the largest Asian-based luxury hotel company in the region, currently manages 37 hotels in 10 countries - China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and Fiji Islands, with a rooms inventory of over 19,000.