LANGHAM Hospitality Group, which already operates The Langham Melbourne and The Langham Sydney, is looking to add another five properties to its Australian portfolio.

“We have a positive outlook of the hotel industry in Australia. There has been significant inbound visitor growth from the emerging economies of China and India as a result of strong income growth in these markets,” said Brett Butcher, CEO of Langham Hospitality Group.

“This catalyst, coupled with sound domestic economic growth and a lack of new hotel developments, is creating a recipe for increasing supply. We believe that Australia can have a number of our brands, and this can be achieved either by developing our own assets or through management contracts.”

According to Butcher, Langham is contemplating introducing the group’s modern luxury brand, Langham Place, to Sydney and other cities in Australia.

“There's no reason why Melbourne and Sydney can’t not support another Langham brand, and then Perth and Brisbane. A (property) in Queensland would make sense,” he said.

Meanwhile, Langham is planning an A$10 million (US$10.4 million) revamp for its recently acquired The Observatory Hotel in Sydney (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 7, 2012), now operating as The Langham Sydney.