Three new hotel openings in Australia will headline a long list of Asia-Pacific debuts slated for 2021, Marriott International has announced.
The year is expected to feature the much-anticipated opening of The Tasman, a Luxury Collection Hotel, in Hobart – a hotel originally intended to open in 2020 but pushed back slightly due to the uncertainty surrounding travel restrictions and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, Melbourne will cut the ribbon on two new hotels in the form of Australia’s second W branded property – W Melbourne – and the new Melbourne Marriott Hotel Docklands.
According to Marriott, China will dominate its opening schedule in 2021, the company expects to soon celebrate its 400th hotel in Greater China and its 50th hotel in Shanghai with the opening of JW Marriott Shanghai Fengxian in spring 2021. This gives Shanghai the distinction of reaching this important milestone for the company in Asia Pacific.
According to a joint report by consultancy Bain & Co. and Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury unit, Mainland China is on track to become the world’s largest personal luxury market by 2025, growing year-over-year in 2020 despite the pandemic. To leverage this trend, Marriott International continues to strengthen its luxury portfolio with expected openings in 2021 such as W Changsha, W Xiamen, St. Regis Qingdao and The Ritz-Carlton Reserve Jiuzhaigou. With the anticipated opening of the Ritz-Carlton Reserve, China will be the first country in Asia Pacific to house all of Marriott International’s luxury brands.
Elsewhere, The Ritz-Carlton brand is expected to celebrate its debut in the leading resort destination of Maldives in early summer. Further expanding Marriott’s presence in resort destinations, the JW Marriott brand is slated to bring its warm luxury experience to Jeju Island in South Korea with the planned opening of JW Marriott Jeju in late 2021. The company’s signature wellness brand, Westin, is also highly anticipated to debut in one of India’s top beach destinations, Goa, this summer.
To support domestic travel in Japan, the company plans to open six additional Fairfield by Marriott hotels throughout 2021 along ‘Michi-no-Eki’ roadside stations aimed at revitalising the country’s local sightseeing spots. Japan expects to have more than 30 Fairfield by Marriott hotels by the end of 2023.
Marriott International Group President, International, Craig Smith, said he was grateful for the resilience and positivity shown by associates, guests, owners and franchisees.
“I am proud of the way we have continued to grow and have moved quickly to adapt to the challenges that arose from the pandemic,” he said.
“With the launch of new global industry hygiene standards in April 2020, innovative offerings such as work anywhere packages and hyper-localised marketing and sales strategies, our nimble and forward-thinking approach will continue to lead us through the recovery.”