Published on : Friday, July 4, 2014
The Marriott International in Istanbul is looking to tap the lucrative segment of Gulf tourists as part of its long-term growth strategy, said a top official of the hotel chain. The hotel’s guests from the Gulf region account for between 25% and 30% of the total number, Marriott Istanbul Sisli, which opened on March 7, is the latest five-star addition to the historical city’s skyline.
The 34-storey hotel with 259 spacious guest rooms has seen 70% occupancy in just three months after its launch, said Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director, Middle East and Africa for Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton.
The group, which includes such luxury brands as the Ritz-Carlton, BVLGARI Hotels and Resorts, JW Marriott and Renaissance Hotel, has added an estimated 1,600 rooms in the Middle East and Africa in the first half of 2014 to a total of 165 hotels and 25,000 rooms in the region, Kyriakidis told a visiting media delegation from Qatar.
Strategically located on the European side of the Bosporus between the districts of Levent and Taksim, the Sisli landmark has taken the total number of Marriott properties in the city to seven and 11 across Turkey.
Thomas Eder, general Manager, Marriott Sisli, said while the hotel’s guests from the Gulf region form a mix of both business and leisure travellers, of late the hotel has seen rising interest from business guests from Qatar.
Despite a recent slowdown, tourism is one of the fastest developing sectors contributing to Turkey’s economic growth. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the sector accounted for 10.9% of Turkey’s GDP and supported 8.3% of all jobs in the country in 2012.
Eder said he was specifically targeting a 20% rise in guest arrivals from Qatar. “In the hort-term, Turkey, and Istanbul in particular, could benefit given the ongoing unrest in other such popular tourist destinations in the region as Egypt and Lebanon,” he said.
Turkey’s tourism sector targets 60mn tourist arrivals and $80bn revenues by 2023. Marriott has a partnership with Turkish Airlines, which saw a 30% jump in passenger traffic in Qatar, in 2013.
They are also working on a combined loyalty programme scheduled for launch by September this year, Eder said.
The Turkish national carrier registered a nearly 26% growth in passenger traffic from the Middle East in 2013 compared to 2012.
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