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Thailand’s Dusit International has formed a new joint venture that will allow it to expand across Japan.
The hotel group has teamed up with Colours International, which operates the E-Hotel chain, to create Dusit Colours – a new joint venture company focused on the Japanese market.
Marking the Thai hotelier’s Japanese debut, Dusit Colours will develop and operate Dusit-branded hotels that reflect “Thai and Japanese hospitality cultures and traditions”. The two companies will also work on hotel management education facilities, as well as jointly developing a hotel franchise model.
Dusit International owns 49% of Dusit Colours, while Colours International owns the remaining 51%. The joint venture is targeting several major Japanese cities, including Kyoto, for the launch of its luxury Dusit Thani hotel brand. It will also consider options for Dusit’s other brands, including dusitD2, DusitPrincess and Dusit Devarana.
“Two core areas for Dusit’s profitable and sustainable growth include balance and expansion,” said Suphajee Suthumpun, Dusit’s group CEO and a director of Dusit Colours. “In the next three years we aim to broaden our portfolio to have more than 50% of our operations outside of Thailand, and entering key markets such as Japan will be essential to reaching this goal.
“We are delighted to partner with Colours International for this joint venture. Their local expertise and knowledge will prove invaluable as we explore projects designed to delight visitors and residents alike in Kyoto,” she added.
Yoshihiro Matsumoto, president of Colours International, commented; “Both Dusit International and Colours International are known for delivering distinctive hospitality inspired by the cultures of their native countries, so there’s a real synergy between our operations. We look forward to making this joint venture a resounding success.”
The Japanese joint venture comes at an opportune time for Dusit; the country’s tourism industry is currently experiencing strong growth, with a record 24 million international travellers having visited Japan in 2016. This is expected to reach 40m by 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympics, and 60m by 2030.
“Dusit International is confident this upward trend will only continue and is delighted to be exploring options in this lucrative market,” the company stated.
