Photo Caption: Anthony Capuano, President & CEO, Marriott International meeting Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi
The recent visit of Marriott International’s President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Capuano, underscored the company’s deep commitment to growing its footprint in India. During the visit, which took place between April 10-14, the company opened the JW Marriott Goa, its 150th hotel in South Asia as well as the Mulberry Shades Bengaluru Nandi Hills, A Tribute Portfolio Resort. In addition, the company announced its plans to open 15 hotels this year in South Asia across its luxury, premium and select brand segments. Marriott also has plans to launch the brand debut of Moxy in India with the anticipated openings of Moxy Bengaluru Airport Prestige Tech Cloud and Moxy Mumbai Andheri West in 2024.
During his tour of the country, Capuano was a featured speaker at the Hotel Investment Conference – South Asia (HICSA) in Bengaluru and met with Minister of Tourism G. Kishan Reddy to discuss capitalizing on India’s G20 presidency to accelerate the industry’s development. A highlight of Capuano’s visit was his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the company’s plans for continued growth in the region. Accompanying him at the meeting was Ranju Alex, Marriott’s Area Vice President for South Asia. India is one of Marriott’s top global markets and the company is building a pipeline of diverse leadership talent, with a heavy focus on supporting women in leadership, a topic that was discussed during the meeting with Prime Minister Modi.
“India is known for its rich culture and heritage, and it was wonderful to be back to experience India’s legendary hospitality,” said Capuano. “I am grateful to Prime Minister Modi and the Government of India for highlighting their clear economic vision and how Marriott can best help advance their goals for the travel and hospitality industry. We are committed to positioning India as a top global destination for travel and tourism and will continue working with our hotel owners to showcase India’s attributes-from extensive national parks and unique wildlife to its rich cultural heritage to both domestic travellers and those from around the world.”
Marriott International is currently present in over 40 cities with 140 hotels across 16 brands in India. The company is focusing on advancing development in secondary and tertiary markets to attract both business and leisure visitors. Marriott has launched its brands in locations such as Mussoorie, Pushkar, Mahabalipuram, Raipur, Siliguri, Bilaspur, and more recently in cities like Tiruchirappalli and Shillong where Marriott was the first international brand to enter the market. These openings fuel economic growth, support local employment, and drive interest and tourism to these areas – which both directly and indirectly benefit an extended supply chain. To meet the growing demand in leisure travel, Marriott plans to further expand its portfolio in key markets such as Jaipur, Corbett, Coorg, Shimla and Pahalgham.
“Marriott is excited to advance the hospitality industry throughout India,” said Capuano. “We are committed to India’s economic growth and have plans to be in more than 50 cities in the next two years, creating 10,000 new jobs.”