InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) said on Thursday it had signed a deal with Turkish property investor ORA Istanbul Real Estate Investment and Development to open two new hotels in Istanbul, one of which will be Turkey's first Holiday Inn Express. The deal will take the total number of IHG hotels in the country to 11, with seven in Istanbul.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) said on Thursday it had signed a deal with Turkish property investor ORA Istanbul Real Estate Investment and Development to open two new hotels in Istanbul, one of which will be Turkey's first Holiday Inn Express. The deal will take the total number of IHG hotels in the country to 11, with seven in Istanbul.
IHG said it signed a 20-year management contract with ORA to develop a 281-room Crowne Plaza and a 146-room Holiday Inn Express in Istanbul's Bayrampasa district. Both hotels are due to open in the first quarter of 2010. Earlier this week, IHG opened a 263-room Crowne Plaza Ankara in the Turkish capital.
The Crowne Plaza Istanbul Bayrampasa and the Holiday Inn Express Istanbul Bayrampasa are being developed as part of ORA Istanbul Urban Entertainment Center, an entertainment, retail and exhibition complex located between the city centre and the airport.
'Turkey is among the fastest growing tourism markets in the world, particularly Istanbul, its largest city. The opening of these two hotels in Istanbul, as part of such a key development for the city, will make these properties a strong addition to the IHG portfolio. We are delighted to be working with ORA which brings great local knowledge to the development,' said Robin Wicks, chief operations officer of IHG's Europe division.
