Over the next five years, Hilton and the Kosifler Group expect to introduce mainly Hilton Garden Inn hotels across the country, all of which Hilton plans to manage.

Hilton Hotels Corporation has today announced that it has entered into a non-exclusive Strategic Development Agreement (SDA) with the Kosifler Group to develop approximately 25 new properties (comprising 3,500 rooms) in key regional locations across Turkey.

"Hilton has enjoyed a longstanding and successful relationship with Turkey, having gained a foothold some 53 years ago when we opened Hilton Istanbul, but even today the country still represents an exciting growth opportunity for us," said Wolfgang M. Neumann, President of Hilton Hotels - Europe. "We are confident that this alliance with the Kosifler Group will help us accelerate our expansion plans through the introduction of additional brands from the Hilton Family of Hotels to enable us to meet rising demands for quality accommodation, as well as providing a hotel product to suit all sectors and budgets."

Welcoming this announcement, Hasan Kosif, President of the Kosifler Group commented: "We are delighted to be working with Hilton in our first major hotel venture in Turkey. As a leading hospitality company, their global presence and experience gives us the confidence to be sure that this alliance will be a huge success."

In addition to this agreement, both companies have also signed a management agreement for the development of their first property - a 121 room Hilton Garden Inn which is expected to open in the city of Kutahya in the second quarter of 2010.

"This announcement further demonstrates the global interest to grow the Hilton Garden Inn brand," said Adrian Kurre, senior vice president – brand management, Hilton Garden Inn. "We look forward to introducing our award winning brand that offers exceptional product consistency and value to both business and leisure travellers in Turkey."

This hotel is the fourth Turkish Hilton Garden Inn management contract to be signed in the past six months and continues to strengthen the company's plans to expand rapidly in the country. Under another non-exclusive Strategic Development Agreement signed last December, Hilton has already inked deals with a different Turkish company to manage new properties in Bursa, Manisa and Diyarbakir.

Hilton has named Turkey as one of its key development regions, joining Russia, the UK & Ireland, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, Germany and Poland as core strategic areas for the introduction of the Hilton Family of hotels in Europe. Today's announcement further consolidates Hilton's plans to concentrate on multi-unit deals in key emerging markets and is the company's second major Turkish hotel development announcement with a leading property partner in the country.

"The scale of this multi-unit agreement is indicative of the significant potential that exists to develop the hotel sector further across Turkey," added Neumann. "Through this partnership we hope to be able to triple our presence in Turkey in just five years, and at the same time fulfil the demand for quality mid-market hotels through the introduction of our Hilton Garden Inn hotel brand."

Today's news reflects the dynamic growth of the innovative Hilton Garden Inn brand across continental Europe, with plans now in place to open properties in ten new locations (Bari, Lecce and Bologna in Italy; Rzeszow in Poland; Frankfurt in Germany; Perm in Russia; Kutahya, Bursa, Manisa and Diyarbakir in Turkey) over the next 24 months.

Hilton currently operates eight properties - seven Hilton® hotels and one Conrad® hotel - across six locations in Turkey. Over the next five years, the company anticipates it will introduce more than 40 Hilton Family hotels across the country and has recently appointed a dedicated development manager, Pogda Demircan for the region to spearhead this growth. The company has also just opened a development office in Ankara.