Sheraton Skyline - A Gateway To And From India Into London

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. October 14, 2008

LONDON, UK, Aeptember 6, 2005. The luxury Sheraton Skyline hotel at London Heathrow is leading the way for Greater London's upscale hotels to promote themselves to the increasing numbers of Indian leisure and business travellers visiting London. The hotel was among the first to install an Indian television channel - Sony Asia TV - in all 350 rooms in 2003. This is in addition to other initiatives targeted at both the Indian guest and the resident Indian community in London. The hotel, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts portfolio, has been targeting Indian clients for the last two years and studying the growing Indian market with great interest.

In October 2003 the hotel launched Mumbai Nights - a weekly Friday night Asian extravaganza of music, DJs, mouth-watering flavours and a new place to be seen for the young Asian community in Greater London. With canap'es from Madhu's, the top Asian restaurant and catering firm, and a partnership with Cobra Beer and Sunrise Radio - the hotel has established itself as a destination for entertainment and dining with Indian visitors and residents alike. Mumbai Nights has also given inspiration for more than 60 Indian weddings to take place at the hotel in the last two years.

Flavio Bucciarelli, General Manager, Sheraton Skyline Hotel said, "India is the second most important source of foreign direct investment into London and the UK is home to more Indian people than any other European country, with 40 per cent living in London - so it makes great sense for us to look towards India as a huge potential source of hotel guests into the UK. India is one of the most dynamic markets in the world today, yet one that is often sidelined by the interest in China. With the launch of Mumbai Nights and the availability of Indian TV, food, newspapers and entertainment at the hotel, we are seeing increasing numbers of Indian guests using the Skyline as a gateway into and out of London.

After China, India is the next important market hoteliers in this city need to be looking at, much as Russia was two years ago. We are firm believers in the importance of India in the world travel market for both inbound and outbound travel for decades to come. As a luxury hotel in Heathrow that offers services specifically to this market, we are perfectly placed to build our reputation in this region of the world. We look forward to welcoming many Indian guests to the Skyline over the next few years."

Visit London figures show that in the five years since 1999 the number of Indian visitors to the city has increased by 20%, with 160,000 coming to London last year, spending lb107 million*. The key feeder markets into the UK are Mumbai and Delhi.

The growing inbound Indian tourism market has been given a major boost by the increase in new airline routes between India and the UK from carriers such as Virgin Atlantic and BMI who both introduced flights to Mumbai this year, as well as increased flights by British Airways to Mumbai and Delhi. Budget airlines are also getting in on the act with the rise of airlines such as Jet Airways.

Jamie Talmage, Business Analyst, Visit London, said, "India is the seventh largest and second most populous country in the world. A series of economic reforms aimed at deregulating the country and stimulating foreign investment has meant India has a consumer class which will swell from 300 million to over 600 million, making India one of the largest and fastest growing markets in the world. India is fast becoming one of the world's largest markets for outbound tourism. Although London has been fairly successful in tapping this potential, there are a lot more opportunities out there that we could work with - particularly as there is already a large Indian community in the UK."

Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the company that manages the Sheraton Skyline, has not only been building relationships with the Indian community in the UK but also heavily investing in India itself by developing hotels there - to benefit from growing domestic and international travel to and within the country. Starwood Hotels & Resorts is currently one of the largest global operators of upscale hotels in India, with ten Sheraton hotels in destinations such as Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and Mumbai. In addition, Starwood recently announced the introduction of the Westin hotel brand into India, with the development of Westin New Delhi Hotel & Residences in Gurgaon, the emerging central business district of New Delhi, scheduled to open in 2007.