IHG has signed its first franchise agreement with Turkish real estate company Angora Birikim to open the Crowne Plaza Ankara in the country's capital.
When it opens in 2022, the Crowne Plaza Ankara will be in the city's Yenimahalle district, within walking distance of Gimart Outlet and Wonderland Eurasia theme park and close to the Presidential Palace. The property will have 189 guestrooms.
“Turkey is a popular European leisure destination with approximately 40 million tourist arrivals in 2018,” said Eric Viale, managing director Southern Europe, IHG, in a statement. “Especially in the city of Ankara, as the country's capital and second largest economy, we see a lot of opportunity for our Crowne Plaza brand that is catering to business and leisure travellers alike ... This signing underscores the significant momentum that the brand experiences in Europe and beyond.”
IHG had 28 hotels open in Turkey across the Six Senses, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands as of the end of Q1. An additional six hotels are in the development pipeline. Next to Holiday Inn, the Crowne Plaza brand is one of the most popular IHG brands among owners in Turkey, making up a third of IHG’s total estate in the market. Worldwide, the Crowne Plaza brand has 430 hotels.