Bangkok (Thailand) – August 25, 2017 (travelindex.com) – The Executive Committee of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is visiting Bangkok, Hua Hin, and Phuket. The global hotel group is thus rapidly advancing its expansion plans in Asia. The Executive Committee (ExCom) of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts launched its “Grand Asia Tour” in Bangkok, underscoring its commitment to the thriving Thai hotel market.

The stopover is part of the management team's two-and-a-half-week trip to meet with colleagues, hotel owners, and key partners in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The trip began on August 20 and will last until September 6.

Thailand was where Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts began its Asian expansion journey with the opening of the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket in 2006. Today, the company operates five hotels in three locations: Bangkok, Phuket, and Pattaya. It has also signed management agreements for four additional hotels, which will increase its portfolio to more than 1,800 rooms nationwide by 2020.

The Mövenpick Resort Khao Yai will open later this year, the Mövenpick Suriwongse Hotel Chiang Mai and the Mövenpick Asara Resort & Spa Hua Hin are scheduled for completion in 2018, while the Mövenpick Resort Mai Khao Beach Phuket will open in 2019, adding more than 700 rooms to the market.

“Thailand is of strategic importance to Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts,” said Olivier Chavy, President and CEO of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts.

"It is not only the gateway to Asia and one of the region's most thriving hotel markets, but also holds strong development potential for our company; by 2020, more than 30% of our properties in Asia will be located in key locations across the country."

During their visit to Thailand, the ExCom delegation will meet with the company's regional team and local hotel owners and tour the sites of future hotels before traveling on to Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia to hold similar meetings.

At the end of the blitz trip, the team, consisting of the highest-ranking heads of the Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance, Development and Sales departments, returns to Bangkok to hold special ExCom meetings.

They will also meet with the hotel company's new ExCom Y Committee, a group of 10 dynamic employees and entrepreneurs from Generation Y who were recruited to work with the Executive Committee and generate new ideas on how to attract guests and talent from Generation Y.

Given that Asia is a key focus of the company's global expansion strategy, the ExCom team felt it appropriate to begin these high-level discussions in Bangkok, a modern city with a thriving hospitality sector and an open-minded millennial target audience.

Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts' Asia development strategy currently envisions operating ten hotels and resorts in seven Asian locations. In addition to the five hotels and resorts in Thailand, the company operates one property each in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

Seventeen new projects have already been signed, all scheduled to open by 2020, expanding the portfolio in Asia to 27 properties. However, the goal is to operate at least 30 hotels and resorts in the region by the end of the decade.

The distribution of the signed projects is as follows: Vietnam (five), Thailand (four), Malaysia (three), Bangladesh (two) and one each in China, the Philippines and the Maldives.

“By the end of the decade, we will have at least 30 properties under our management in Asia, and looking beyond 2020, we expect our real estate development activities across the continent to represent a larger share of our overall portfolio,” said Andrew Langdon, Chief Development Officer of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts and one of the ExCom members taking part in the “Grand Tour of Asia”.

“We are on track to open two new hotels and resorts this year – the Mövenpick Resort Khao Yai in Thailand and the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Boracay, our second property in the Philippines.”

About Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts: Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is an internationally operating, upscale hotel management company with over 16,000 employees and is represented in 24 countries with over 80 hotels, resorts, and Nile cruise ships. Around 20 further properties are in the planning or construction phase, including in Chiang Mai (Thailand), Al Khobar (Saudi Arabia), and Basel (Switzerland).

With a focus on expansion in its core markets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts specializes in business and conference hotels as well as holiday resorts, all of which reflect a distinctive flair and respect for the local community. The company, with Swiss roots and headquarters in Baar (Central Switzerland), places great emphasis on first-class service and culinary experiences with a personal touch. Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is committed to sustainable business practices and is the world's most frequently awarded Green Globe certification. The hotel group is part of Mövenpick Holding (66.7%) and the Kingdom Group (33.3%).

For further information, please contact: Sarah Fernandez, Director of Marketing Communications – Asia Pacific, Place Two, Suite 1803, 10110 Bangkok, Thailand