Taj is considering taking its lowest price point product, the Ginger hotels, international and is exploring the Philippines for this.
Senior executives at Taj were in the South East Asian country recently exploring its options there. According to a Philippine media report, Taj executives are considering investing in the country on its own or in joint venture with local investors.
In the same report, Samie Lim, chairman of the tourism committee of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry who was privy to Taj’s visit there said the company is looking at bringing its Ginger brand in to the Philippines as a possible precursor to its other portfolio brands.
Taj, which is generally forthright on its international plans, however is tight lipped on this issue. In reply to hotelierindia.com’s query on its Philippines mission, Prabhat Pani, CEO, Roots Corporation, the Taj subsidiary which owns and manages Ginger hotels said: “At the moment, in Ginger Hotels we are focusing on aggressively expanding the footprint across India and we are committed to reaching 30 hotels by December 2010. We recognise that the opportunity space is large and that we have the unique opportunity to leverage our first-mover advantage in the category of economy hotels in India. Hence, when the time is right, we will surely examine the opportunity of expanding internationally.”
