International hotels

Abstract

The average growth in international tourist arrivals was 4.5 per cent in 2006, which is substantially above long-term expectations and is a very positive sign for the hotel industry. Hotel chains are rapidly expanding and developing in key markets and the outlook for 2007 is good. The results, however, throw up some interesting pointers on how the global hotel market is changing and how the world's emerging markets are generating increased travellers year on year. The three emerging markets of China, India and the Gulf States are seeing the largest growth opportunities of the industry. It is predicted that between India and China, a total of 1.4 million additional branded hotel rooms will soon be required. The world's largest tourism spend market in the USA still has some room for growth, which is predicted in both domestic and outbound terms to double from $830bn to $1.6tn by 2015. Interestingly, this growth is predicted to be mostly at the luxury end of the market. Increased travel by this silver segment will keep Europe as the number one tourism exporting region, delivering some 730 million travellers by 2020. Education and training establishments will be needed at an international standard to retain good quality hotel staff. The industry must also not lose touch with its local roots and like many industries it must ‘think globally and act locally’. Hoteliers need to define the brand persona including operations, sales, marketing and service delivery so they are adapted to the different needs of their target generational segment. Customer loyalty will depend on a hotel operator's ability to deliver the brand promise consistently throughout their hotel experience so creating a brand premium.Journal of Retail and Leisure Property (2007) 6, 189–193. doi:10.1057/palgrave.rlp.5100061 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Journal of Retail & Leisure Property is the property of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)