26th Apr 2007 20:20
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), (LSE:IHG) (NYSE:IHG) (ADRs)the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, today announcedplans for a new Holiday Inn Express in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte,Brazil. Scheduled to open at the end of 2008-early 2009, the 13-floor,160-guestroom hotel, will be owned by Praiamar EmpreendimentosTuristicos Ltda. under a license agreement with a company in theInterContinental Hotels Group. £ Natal is the capital of Rio Grande do Norte (The Grand Rio of theNorth) and is considered one of the most vital tourist destinations innortheast Brazil. The hotel will be located at Ave. Engenheiro RobertoFreire 2622 across from the Ponta Negra beach in the central tourist'ssection of Natal. £ "Natal is one of Brazil's greatest tourist cities in the northeastpart of the country and offers countless activities for both Brazilianand international travelers alike, an ideal location to build aHoliday Inn Express hotel," says Alvaro Diago, area president, IHGLatin America. "Holiday Inn Express Natal will meet the demand fortravelers visiting the region looking for comfortable and affordableaccommodations with a familiar and prestigious, quality brand name." £ A city built on sand, Natal is known for its fantastic beachesincluding the location of the soon-to-be Holiday Inn Express in PontaNegra which is regarded as the best in the city. Natal also has greatsand dunes that are hundreds of feet high and spill down into theseashore. Local sand dune activities include sand-skiing,rope-sliding, camel rides, and buggy rides. Other popular sports andactivities in the city include fishing and snorkeling up the coast atnearby Maracajau, where there are wide coral reefs that lie in shallowwater. Lastly, Natal has wonderful sunsets that can be enjoyed fromthe top of the glorious dunes. £ "We are very proud to develop one of IHG's fastest-growing brandsin our magnificent city of Natal, as the brand is a renowned globalbrand that ideally fits the needs of many travelers' today," saidFrancisco Abdon Gosson from Praiamar Empreendimentos Turisticos Ltda."We anticipate a successful grand opening next year and look forwardto furthering our relationship with IHG." £ Upon completion, the hotel will have an outdoor swimming pool,fitness center, guest parking, gift shops and a business center. £ The Holiday Inn Express brand has rapidly developed into one ofthe world's most preferred hotel brands. A young brand, by globalhotel standards, Holiday Inn Express has been offering comfort, valueand convenience to international business and leisure travelers sinceits inception in 1991. £ In a short 16 years, Holiday Inn Express has grown to nearly 1700hotels throughout the world, and is the fastest growing of the HolidayInn hotel brands, of which there are 14 hotels currently found inLatin America. £ Currently, IHG has a total of 16 properties in Brazil. In November2006, IHG opened the Crowne Plaza Belem in Belem, Brazil, the locationof the first InterContinental Hotel developed in 1946. £ IHG has more than 160 hotels in Mexico, Central and South Americaas the well as the Caribbean, and has been serving Latin America forover 60 years. IHG is one of the leading hotel companies in the world,and the second largest hotel operator in Latin America. IHG has hotelssituated in nearly every key market throughout the Latin Americaterritory. £ Notes to Editors: £ InterContinental Hotels Group PLC of the United Kingdom (LSE:IHG)(NYSE:IHG) (ADRs) is the world's largest hotel group by number ofrooms. InterContinental Hotels Group owns, manages, leases orfranchises, through various subsidiaries, over 3,700 hotels and556,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around theworld. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized and respectedhotel brands including InterContinental(R) Hotels & Resorts, CrownePlaza(R) Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn(R) Hotels and Resorts, HolidayInn Express(R), Staybridge Suites(R), Candlewood Suites(R) and HotelIndigo(R), and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program,Priority Club(R) Rewards with over 31 million members worldwide. £ InterContinental Hotels Group offers information and onlinereservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com and informationor the Priority Club Rewards program at www.priorityclub.com. £ For the latest news from InterContinental Hotels Group, visit ouronline Press Office at www.ihg.com/media. Copyright Business Wire 2007Related Shares:
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