The Switzerland based hospitality brand, Swiss International Hotels & Resorts, today, announced its launch in India and South Asia. The thirty-year-old Swiss hospitality brand is targeting 50 hotels in the 3 star, 4 star and 5 star categories across India and South Asia by 2017. About six thousand hotel rooms will be added. 

Swiss International Hotels & Resorts was acquired by the current owners in 2010. Since then, the group has looked at expanding to other parts of the world. From being a Switzerland specific hotel chain, in the last two years, the group has marked its presence in Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, besides home properties in Switzerland. The group currently has fifteen hotels, with twenty four more in the pipeline, at various stages of completion. 

“Asia is the growth region of the world with India and China driving a large part of that growth. As the economy grows, so does business travel and domestic tourism. But the hotel rooms here have not kept pace with growth. There are more hotel rooms in New York City than there are in all of India. Moreover, the majority of hotels in India are independent hotels and not branded with an international chain. This is in contrast to many parts of world where the majority of the hotels are branded. For us, this means that we have many opportunities waiting to be converted,” said Mr. Anupam Narayan, Chairman & Managing Director, Swiss International Hotels & Resorts, South Asia. 

“In addition, the State and Central Governments are recognizing the value of tourism, both domestic and international, to the economy and are taking steps to improve the infrastructure and facilities to attract more tourists. So, I am very optimistic about the future of tourism and the hotel industry in India and the neighboring countries,” he added. 

The Group would be introducing two primary brands, Swiss International Hotels & Resorts and Spirit Hotel, besides one affiliation option for heritage, palace and unique properties. 

Swiss International Hotels & Resorts would be a 4/5 star, full service, upscale hotel with about 210 rooms, extensive banquets, executive meeting space, restaurants and other conveniences. These properties would be located in Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets and resort locations, with the corporate domestic and international business traveler and the upper end leisure customers being targeted. 

Spirit Hotel, meanwhile, would be a 3 star, midscale brand and positioned as affordable luxury. This brand will cater to business and leisure travelers, with the model providing a clean, safe, comfortable and reliable service at affordable prices. The properties would be largely located in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, business parks and tourism destination locations. 

The third option is for boutique hotels, heritage hotels and palaces that want to affiliate with an international brand for the global reservation and marketing presence but want to maintain their name and unique identity. These will be designated as Partner of Swiss International. 

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