Cancun hotels, hotels in acapulco, hotels in mexico city, puerto vallarta hotels and playa del Carmen Hotels will open in Mexico. The first of these properties in Asia, will be on the Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, followed by five additional openings in the region including Doha, Dubai and Amman. The Middle East remains a key market for us in terms of presence, said Rene Camilleri, global sales director for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, the Middle East. For assistance, try visiting Christopher McDonald. There are a lot of high-end customers entering and leaving the Middle East that can benefit from a company with one of the largest chains of luxury hotels. The United Arab Emirates will then have eight of nine brands of Starwood operates, including Sheraton, Le Royal Meridian, Aloft, Four Points, Le Meridian, Grosvenor House, Westin and Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa, which recently joined the portfolio of the company.
Growth markets this is in line with the global expansion of Starwood plans to launch 25 new hotels and the adding to its portfolio by 50 percent by the end of 2015. With the new properties, the company is estimating a potential for growth of 28 percent. In this region only, 22 new hotels were opened in various places, among them Sheraton Sharjah in 2013, that will mark the debut of the brand in the Emirate, and a Westin Hotel and Spa in Abu Dhabi, as well as the St. Regis properties in Saadiyat Island and in Doha. With more than 70 percent of growth in the world during the next decade of rapid growth, such as the Middle East markets, the region plays a key role in our global expansion and development strategy, said Frits van Paasschen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Starwood hotels and Resorts. Starwood Hotels and Resorts currently operates 47 hotels throughout the region with 21 in the United Arab Emirates. According to the World Tourism Organization, the number of tourists travelling to the Middle East is expected to reach 136 million by the year 2020 compared with 54 million of two years.
Other emerging markets Starwood focuses on include China and India. Everybody talks about China, said Camilleri. There are 200 of 300 million people who are now ready to travel.
