Oberoi wants its own Turkish Delight

While the battle for its control continues to rage at home, EIH (Oberoi Hotels) has applied to the Turkish government for a luxury hotel in Istanbul.

This is part of the growing economic relations between India and Turkey which was fast-tracked earlier this week to coincide with Turkish president Abdullah Gul’s official visit to India.

Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) confirmed in a written statement, EIH’s plans to open a luxury hotel in Istanbul.

EIH spokesperson Ketaki Narain also confirmed their Turkish plans. “The Oberoi Group is exploring opportunities in Turkey. At present we do not have anything definite to share,” she commented via email.

The Turkish plan is in addition to EIH’s MENA ambitions where it will soon have three new hotels in the region. A 252-room Oberoi in Dubai is slated to open next year, while an Oberoi each in Abu Dhabi and Oman are underway. All three will be managed by Oberoi.

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With increase development in the region, Oberoi is also preparing to ramp up its awareness campaign in the Middle East through its re-opened London office last December following a major re-structuring of its sales and marketing structure.

“The opening of the London office not only allows us to re-connect with our UK and European travel trade partners, but for the first time, gives us a chance to focus on the Middle East market - one that is growing in terms of outbound business to India and one we are placing great importance on,” explained the group’s vice president of sales and marketing EMEA, Mark Allvey.