Hilton to boost hotel portfolio in Türkiye, says regional head

ISTANBUL

Hilton plans to increase the number of its venues and staff in Türkiye, the hotel chain's area president for the Middle East, Africa, and Türkiye said on Friday.

Türkiye "is a fantastic region for us. This is the fourth-largest region outside of the US," Jochem-Jan Sleiffer told Anadolu Agency in an interview, noting that Hilton had recently signed its 100th hotel in the country.

"We're going to have 100 hotels in the pipeline and operating," said Sleiffer. "Currently, we operate more than 70 hotels and we have 30 more coming."

As the number of its establishments rises, the company will need to boost the number of its employees -- currently at about 5,000 -- by roughly 3,000 in the next couple of years, he added.

Underlining the wide variety of jobs that the hotel offers recruits, including positions "in front desk, in event management, in food and beverage and in engineering," Sleiffer said a lot of travel was also involved in the work at Hilton.

More hotels to come

As the first international hotel brand in Türkiye, the chain's Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus has been open for over 55 years, Sleiffer said.

"This was the first place where Hilton, Mr. Conrad Hilton, opened internationally a hotel," he added, stressing that this is "a very important market for us."

Today, Hilton has venues across Türkiye, including in the capital Ankara and the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, as well as Dalaman and Bodrum overlooking the Aegean Sea, said the executive, pointing also to plans to open a new hotel in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa.

On the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Sleiffer said business in Türkiye picked up "really quickly" when the outbreak subsided as locals resumed leisure travel.

"But now, you see the foreigners coming, as well, for leisure travel again. So, our hotels in Antalya, in Bodrum, in Dalaman are doing extremely well," he said, praising the "good mix of international travelers, including Turkish travelers."

He also said that now, conferences are also starting to booked.

Holiday resorts are particularly popular among foreigners, who Sleiffer said are coming to Türkiye "because they want to experience the hospitality" for which the country is known "for all these years."

Hospitality is "in the culture, it is in the genes of the Turkish people," he added.

"So, we want everybody to come and experience that."

*Writing by Aysu Bicer in Ankara