After announcing a massive renovation of its flagship Dusit Thani property in Bangkok, Dusit International is also looking at new ways to expand its reach overseas. The Thai hospitality group has formed a joint venture with Colours International, operator of the E-Hotel chain in Japan, in an attempt to make inroads in the country.
Visitors travelling to Japan climbed by an average of 33 per cent per year between 2011 and 2015 and the country had its most successful January on record in 2017. A total of 2.3 million international tourists visited Japan during that month. Dusit will now bring its luxury Dusit Thani brand to the country as well as exploring opportunities for its Dusitd2, Dusit Princess and Dusit Devarana brands.
The newly formed joint venture is named Dusit Colours and will be the Thai company’s debut in Japan. The partnership will look to develop and operate Dusit-branded hotels that combine both Thai and Japanese hospitality styles. There are also plans to develop hotel management-related education programmes in Japan. While no projects have been made public just yet, the joint venture is targeting major cities with Kyoto being an area it will focus on.
“In the next 3 years we aim to broaden our portfolio to have more than 50 per cent of our operations outside of Thailand, and entering key markets such as Japan will be essential to reaching this goal. Colours International’s local expertise and knowledge will prove invaluable as we explore projects designed to delight visitors and residents alike in Kyoto,” says Suphajee Suthumpun, Group CEO of Dusit International and Director of the new Dusit Colours, in a press release.
Dusit International has ambitious plans in the next 3 to 4 years. The company is looking to expand its portfolio by adding around 40 new properties in 21 countries during this time. If successful, the expansion would more than double Dusit’s current portfolio. The company has 29 properties with most of these located in Thailand.
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