The year 2013 will be one of expansion for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc, which is planning to open a number of new hotels and sign more hotel management agreements, two-thirds of which will be located in fast-growing markets, including China.

Starwood is looking to maintain the momentum it saw last year, when the company signed more deals than it has in any year since the global economic crisis began. In 2012, the company signed 131 new hotel management and franchise agreements, up 17 percent from 2011, including 31 conversions, 12 of which opened during 2012.

"Rising wealth, increasingly global businesses and a digitally connected world are creating unprecedented demand for travel and new travel patterns, and we continue to be as bullish as ever about our long-term growth," said Frits van Paasschen, Starwood's president and CEO.

"Whether it's manufacturing in Vietnam, mineral resources from Nigeria, or outbound tourism from Brazil, Russia, India or China, globalization is spurring economic development and creating many exciting expansion opportunities for our business."

The company now plans to open its first property in Tajikistan, while also expanding further in such important markets as Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Hungary, Turkey and Saudi Arabia as well as perennial growth markets like China and India. It will also continue to focus on identifying the right partners for continued development in Brazil, Russia and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Asia remains a high priority market for Starwood, accounting for approximately one-quarter of Starwood's existing hotel rooms and more than half of Starwood's pipeline. Starwood will also continue to build on its established presence in mature markets and to see strong interest in conversions for growth in developed markets, such as North America. The company expects to see increased conversion momentum in 2013 in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and Europe.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/26/2013 page13)