Hilton Worldwide is looking for new areas of expansion for Indonesia, and is considering a number of markets for development. Hilton has its eye on the country as a result of its consistent economic growth and distribution of free visas to citizens of a variety of countries around the world.
“We already have four properties under our management and eight others, which are under construction in Jakarta, Tangerang, Surabaya and Bali, will open within the next two years,” William Costley, Hilton’s VP for Southeast Asia and India, said in a statement.
The four properties Costley mentioned are the Double Tree by Hilton in Jakarta, the Hilton in Bandung, the Conrad and the Hilton Garden Inn, both in Bali. Hilton is also looking for development opportunities in Lombok, Medan in North Sumatra, Balikpapan in East Kalimantan and Palembang in South Sumatra, and the company is searching for the right partner to begin work. These partnerships need to work, partly because Hilton’s brands are designed to fit into specific locations.
“But we are always directly involved together with the owners in the process of designing and constructing every hotel we will manage, and in training its human resources,” Costley said in a statement.
According to Costley, the ASEAN Open Sky Agreement, Southeast Asia’s aviation policy which is geared toward the creation of a unified aviation market among its members, is expected to increase business travel and jump start the hospitality industry across Indonesia.
“We are quite excited about the prospect of the tourism industry, especially after the launching of the visa-free facility,” Costley said. “And I think the target of 20 million tourist arrivals in 2020 is not impossible.”
Of Hilton’s hotels under development in Indonesia, the Waldorf Astoria Bali is set to open in 2017 in a 74-story, mixed-use building. Two other hotels are under construction in Ubud and Seminyak, both in Bali, and will open within the next two years under the Waldorf Astoria brand, and the Hilton Bal (converted from the Grand Nikko) is set to open later this year with 408 rooms.
DoubleTree by Hilton is also opening hotels in Surabaya and Karawaci, while the Hilton Garden Inn band is opening hotels in Kemang, Jakarta and Karawaci over the next two years.