India is rapidly emerging as Marriott International’s most promising frontier for large-scale expansion, signaling what the global hospitality giant considers its next major strategic growth opportunity. In a detailed interview with *Business Insider*, the company’s Chief Commercial Officer, John Toomey, revealed that Marriott is preparing to significantly deepen its presence across the Indian subcontinent—planning to extend operations from 48 cities to approximately 90, effectively doubling its existing reach. Toomey, who has dedicated nearly thirty years to Marriott, described India as “an absolutely exploding economy and democracy,” emphasizing both the nation’s swift economic ascent and its stable political framework as powerful engines for development.
In his current leadership role, Toomey supervises a vast network of more than 650 Marriott-managed hotels spread throughout the Asia-Pacific region (excluding China). Within this wide territory, India occupies a particularly pivotal position. At present, Marriott operates around 160 hotels in the country, with an additional 150 properties actively progressing through various stages of its development pipeline. This robust expansion aligns closely with numerous industry analyses that have highlighted India’s extraordinary travel and tourism potential in recent years. According to a 2023 McKinsey report, the nation’s accelerating economic growth positions it as an increasingly vital “global source market for leisure travel,” suggesting that more Indians will travel both domestically and abroad as disposable incomes rise.
Toomey reiterated Marriott’s conviction that India offers a “tremendous growth opportunity.” He attributed this optimism to several macroeconomic and demographic trends: the country’s vast, young, and progressively affluent population, the government’s ambitious investments in national infrastructure and transportation connectivity, and the growing appetite among both domestic and international tourists for elevated travel experiences. These factors combine to produce strong, sustained demand across market segments, particularly from the expanding middle and upper classes who now prioritize comfort, convenience, and brand quality when exploring destinations within India.
At present, a substantial portion of Marriott’s Indian clientele consists of domestic travelers—a pattern that reflects the broader strength of the local tourism sector. Toomey expressed confidence that this market will continue to surge over the next decade, as more Indians seek leisure travel options within their own borders. Importantly, Marriott’s strategy extends beyond India’s major metropolitan hubs—cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bangalore. While the company remains focused on consolidating its presence in these cosmopolitan centers, it is also pushing assertively into smaller tier-two and tier-three cities. This secondary expansion is being driven by initiatives like *Series by Marriott*, a newly launched collection designed to integrate a variety of independent and regional hotel brands under Marriott’s global umbrella. Introduced in May, this platform alone is expected to add approximately 115 new properties to Marriott’s already diverse Indian portfolio.
Toomey emphasized that the company’s expansion is strongly influenced by India’s dramatic improvements in physical infrastructure and the continuing transformation of its travel ecosystem. Reflecting on the country’s progress, he noted that around a decade ago, India had only about 50 operational airports. Today, that number has expanded to roughly 150, with ambitious government plans to build an additional 200 in the foreseeable future. Such growth not only enhances domestic mobility but also creates new opportunities for hospitality development in previously under-served markets.
Yet, Toomey acknowledged that operating in India comes with distinctive complexities. As one of the most diverse nations on Earth—comprising 28 states, eight union territories, and more than a hundred active languages—India presents vast cultural, linguistic, and geographic variations. Its landscapes encompass deserts, tropical forests, fertile plains, and the towering Himalayas. Given this extraordinary diversity, Toomey stressed that a standardized, one-size-fits-all business model is unfeasible. Instead, each region, city, and even individual property must tailor its offerings to suit the nuanced expectations and preferences of local guests while retaining Marriott’s global quality standards.
Broader market indicators reinforce Marriott’s bullish stance. McKinsey’s 2023 analysis projected that if India’s outbound tourism follows a trajectory similar to China’s rapid rise, Indian travelers could generate between 80 and 90 million international trips annually by 2040—an astonishing increase from the 13 million recorded in 2022. Complementing this outlook, Morgan Stanley forecasted in the same year that the nation’s overall consumption of goods and services, including leisure and recreation, could double to $4.9 trillion by the end of the decade, up from roughly $2 trillion in 2022. On a global scale, the UN Tourism’s *World Tourism Barometer* reported that in 2024, approximately 1.4 billion people traveled internationally, marking an 11% increase from the previous year. The organization predicted further worldwide growth in tourism arrivals of between 3% and 5% for the current year—an environment that provides fertile ground for Marriott’s own expansion ambitions.
Importantly, Marriott’s intensified focus on India does not represent a retreat from other key Asian markets. Toomey made clear that China continues to play an essential role in the company’s regional strategy. “I wouldn’t say it’s over for China,” he explained, adding that the country remains one of the strongest outbound travel markets across Asia, feeding visitor flows to destinations such as Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand. He further observed that Marriott’s experiences in China have significantly informed the company’s tactics and outlook for India. In his words, “India today feels much like China did 10 to 15 years ago,” when rapid industrialization, urbanization, and rising incomes were transforming travel behaviors at an unprecedented scale. With a comparably massive population—now exceeding 1.4 billion—and the freedoms afforded by a democratic framework, India appears poised to follow a similarly remarkable growth path.
Beyond merely adding properties, Marriott is deepening its engagement within the Indian market through meaningful local partnerships and consumer-focused innovations. The company has introduced a co-branded hotel credit card in collaboration with India’s HDFC Bank, enabling travelers to earn rewards through both everyday spending and hotel stays. In addition, Marriott announced a joint loyalty program with Indian e-commerce powerhouse Flipkart, bridging hospitality and digital retail ecosystems to strengthen brand presence among India’s digitally active consumers. Collectively, these strategic moves signify Marriott International’s long-term commitment to India as not only a key market for hotel expansion but as a focal point of innovation within the global travel and hospitality industry.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/marriott-executive-hotel-chain-big-bet-india-2025-11
