Thistle to expand brand overseas
Thistle Hotels is taking the brand overseas by investing £11 million investment in three hotels in Asia.
It will renovate two Malaysian properties, in Port Dickson and Johor Bahru, and build a new hotel in Shanghai.
The first to open will be the Port Dickson Resort in Malaysia on June 1.
The expansion is part of Thistle’s two-year strategy to introduce the brand internationally.
The global head quarters of its parent company, Hong Leong, is in Malaysia.
Chief operating officer Heiko Figge explained: “The UK market remains our primary focus. However, this exciting advancement overseas is a great opportunity to extend our UK success story on an international platform.
“Asia has proven to be a strong leader in growth, with its business travel and domestic tourism markets soaring.”
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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