PARIS-based Louvre Hotels Group has set its sights firmly on the emerging economies of Asia.
Speaking at a panel session during Economy Hotels World Asia 2011, Mark van Ogtrop, managing director, Golden Tulip South-east Asia, said Louvre intends to expand to Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia, in addition to ongoing growth in India, China and Thailand (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 23).
India remains the hotel chain’s priority market owing to the country’s booming economic development, and plans are underway to build 50 more hotels in the country by 2016, on top of the existing eight.
The hotel chain – the second largest in Europe and eighth largest in the world – has so far expanded its presence in Asia through private funding or co-investments with domestic players.
“We need locals who understand how their respective markets work,” Ogtrop said. “Moreover, there’s little appetite for institutional lending at the moment, especially for developing budget properties.”
