The 60 year old brand shows no signs of slowing down as founding family finish up two-week tour of the region.
UAE – The founding family of Holiday Inn have just rounded up a whistle-stop visit to the region, helping to commemorate the 60th anniversary of one of the world’s most successful hotel brands. The family of founder Kemmons Wilson paid a visit to the UAE, Kuwait and India on their two week tour which paid homage to the brand’s 35-year history in the region, as well as its promising future.
Spence Wilson, who is the eldest son of founder Kemmons Wilson, was accompanied on the tour of the Middle East and India by his wife, Becky. Spence Wilson has grown up with Holiday Inn throughout his life, having been present for the opening of the first hotel in Memphis, Tennessee in 1952. In the sixty years since it was founded by his father, Holiday Inn has become one of the most recognisable hotel brands in the world. The brand continues to grow in the Middle East and India with 38 new Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels due to open across the region in the next five years.
Beginning their tour in the UAE, the couple shared their excitement at the progress of the brand and the importance of international expansion at a 60th anniversary celebration. Held at Holiday Inn Al Barsha, they were joined by colleagues from IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), as well as colleagues from Holiday Inn hotels across the UAE.
In Kuwait, the family paid tribute to the brand’s heritage in the Middle East. They celebrated the 30th anniversary of Crowne Plaza Kuwait which started out as a Holiday Inn in 1982. The family was hosted by Jawad Bukhamseen, the owner of the hotel and Chairman of Bukhamseen Group Holding Company. Mr Bukhamseen’s pioneering spirit saw him sign the contract to open one of the first Holiday Inn hotels in the Middle East in 1977 with Kemmons Wilson.
Expansion is particularly rapid for the brand in India where the Wilson family took part in the opening of Holiday Inn Express Ahmedabad. Marking the launch of Holiday Inn Express in the country, the hotel is the first of 19 Holiday Inn Express’ planned there. The brand will grow by over 500 percent as 31 new Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels open across India in the next five years.
Addressing delegates at an IHG’s Leaders Meeting in Abu Dhabi at the end of their tour, Spence Wilson reflected on Holiday Inn’s success: “Having the chance to visit the Middle East and India has been a fantastic experience. It has highlighted that Holiday Inn’s core values are still very much a part of the brand. We’re very proud of the 35 year history that Holiday Inn has had here and excited about the growth in store for it too.”
“The brand’s continued success is a real testament to the Holiday Inn winning spirit that my father ingrained in everything he did. It is even more wonderful to see that spirit inherent in the people we have met over the past two weeks.”
Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Officer, India, Middle East and Africa for IHG commented: “Holiday Inn has been a key part of IHG’s portfolio in the Middle East and India and will continue to play an important role in our growth in the region. We’re delighted that the Wilson family could join us to celebrate Holiday Inn’s heritage and promising pipeline in the Middle East, as well as the beginning of a new era for the brand in India with the opening of the first Holiday Inn Express in the country.”
Today, there are 3,414 properties in the Holiday Inn brand family globally, with another 682 due to open in the next three to five years.
Tatiana is the news co-ordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy. She holds a Bachelor degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
