With a strong presence on established markets, the Westin brand of the Starwood group wished to pursue growth on emerging markets including China, where it celebrated the opening of the 200th property in its global portfolio.

The opening of the Westin Chongqing Liberation Square (336 rooms and suites) is particularly important for the brand of the group Starwood Hotels & Resorts. In fact, it brings its number of properties to 200 worldwide.

Three other Chinese hotels are planned for the brand in the years to come: the Westin Zhujiajian Resort in Zhoushan, the Westin Blue Bay Resort in Qingshui Bay/Hainan and the Westin Haikou in Hainan.

The Asia Pacific region is a favorite of the Starwood group for the development of the Westin brand, which expects to open half of the nearly 30 properties that it has planned by 2016 in the region. Emerging markets thus represent close to 70% of the chain's pipeline.

Simon Turner, President of Global Development for Starwood, explained that: "Emerging markets now account for nearly 70% of the Westin development pipeline, fueled by accelerating demand in China and India, where rising wealth and rapid urbanization have generated a fierce appetite for strong global brands."

Westin is currently present in 40 countries and territories, and is one of the brands of the Starwood group, which has around 1,200 properties in 100 countries.