CARLSON Rezidor Hotel Group and Panorama Group have deepened their collaboration, committing to develop 20 new hotels in Indonesia within seven years under the midscale brands of Radisson and Park Inn by Radisson.
Partners since Carlson Wagonlit Travel Indonesia was set up as a joint venture in 1999, the new company, Carlson Panorama Hospitality, will manage hotels in key cities like Jakarta, Surabaya, Jogjakarta and secondary locations like Manado, Makassar, Palembang and Medan. It will have a representative office in Jakarta.
Marking the re-entry of Carlson’s hotel business into Indonesia after its venture with Salim Group ended in 2003, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group’s Asia-Pacific president, Simon Barlow, said the timing was right to return to Indonesia as it was booming.
Citing figures from McKinsey Global Institute’s 2012 report, he pointed out that Indonesia was poised to become the world’s seventh largest economy by 2030, with 135 million consumers representing a US$1.38 trillion market opportunity.
Said Barlow: “We saw the first wave of five-star hotels (sweep) across Asia, and in the last four to five years, we have seen the emergence of international three- and four-star hotels, which has now gathered pace.”
As such, Carlson would be focused on importing its midscale brands to capture the growing domestic market, he explained.
Also eyeing the growing number of middle-class travellers, Budi Tirtawisata, group CEO, Panorama Group, remarked that the market was big enough for everyone to get a slice of the pie, adding that he did not see Carlson’s expansion as being in conflict with Panorama’s own line of hotels by PHM Hospitality.
“If we see an opportunity to manage a 400-room hotel, for example, I don’t think (PHM) has the capacity for it and I will leave it to Carlson Panorama. On the other hand, PHM has products that cater to certain markets such as surfers, and such a property would not fit Carlson’s brands,” said Budi.
– Read more about Panorama Group’s emerging businesses in TTG Asia March 8-21, 2013
