Dusit to expand presence worldwide

THAILAND-based Dusit International plans to expand its Dusit Thani and dusitD2 brands to Europe and Australia and within Asia over the next three years.

The hotel chain operates 17 hotels in Thailand and six abroad, and has a further nine in the pipeline—eight across Bahrain, China, India, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and one in Thailand.

Dusit CEO, Chanin Donavanik, said the expansion was part of plans to have an equal number of properties in Thailand and overseas, particularly in Europe — which forms 50 per cent of the group’s clientele.

Chanin expects performance at Dusit’s hotels in Thailand to improve by 10 per cent this year. Dusit properties in Phuket and Pattaya have been recording 80 to 90 per cent occupancy so far, though properties in Bangkok and Hua Hin have managed just above 60 per cent.

Occupancy rates are expected to drop during the low season, and tacticals will then be needed to draw bookings, Chanin added.

Meanwhile, Dusit launched its new US$335,000 website yesterday, in a bid to increase online bookings to 25 per cent of total business this year from 10 per cent in 2010.

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