Hotel Okura Co. is planning to enter the Turkish market by operating about five hotels there over the next five years, company officials said.
Okura will take a 44 percent stake in a joint venture capitalized at around ¥50 million to be established with local companies, probably this month. The company will take charge of the operational management of the hotels to be opened in major cities such as Ankara and Istanbul, the officials said on Monday.
The hotels will likely be operated under the Okura or Nikko Hotels International brand.
The company has decided to invest in Turkey as Japan has close economic ties with the country and the Turkish economy is projected to grow in the medium- to long-term, the officials said.
Okura, which currently operates 25 hotels overseas and 47 in Japan, plans to increase the number to 100, including 50 overseas, by fiscal 2020.