John

Hilton Hotels Corporation plans to develop 15 properties in Turkey over the next five years.

Both Hampton by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn hotels, all of which Hilton expects to manage, will be introduced to the country. Hilton currently operates eight properties in Turkey – seven Hiltons and one Conrad.

A total of 2,500 rooms will make up the development programme following the signing of a Letter of Understanding (LOU) for a strategic development agreement with local company Amplio to develop the 15 hotels in regional locations across Turkey.

The arrangement is the company's fourth for European development this year, expected to result in around 65 new hotels across Europe over the next five years.

Hilton recently named Turkey as one of its key development markets, joining Russia, the UK & Ireland, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, Germany and Poland as "core strategic areas" for the introduction of hotels in Europe.

Hilton Hotels Europe president Wolfgang Neumann said: "These critical alliances across Europe reinforce our position as the premier global hotel company and underline our strategy to sign multi-unit deals in key growth markets, such as Turkey.

"In signing this LOU with Amplio we are well on track to realising our ambition to open 1,000 new hotels internationally in ten years.

"The size of this anticipated agreement is indicative of the huge potential that exists to develop the hotel sector further across Turkey.

"Through this relationship we hope to be able to grow our existing portfolio in the market by 150 per cent in just five years, and at the same time fulfil the demand for quality mid-market and economy hotels through the introduction of our Hampton by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn hotel brands."

(Travelmole)

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