Sheraton Shenzhou Penninsula Resort in Hainan to open by year’s end

Sheraton already has 60 properties in China, which has emerged as the world’s fastest-growing and second-largest economy and represents a key visitor segment for Hawaii.

White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood (Nasdaq: HOT), which owns the Sheraton, St. Regis, Westin and W hotel brands, employs more than 4,900 people in Hawaii, making it the state’s fourth-largest private employer, according to PBN research. Starwood has 11 properties in Hawaii, including four in Waikiki alone.

Later this year in China, Sheraton will open the Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel, which marks the Sheraton brand’s debut in Guangzhou. Other key 2010 openings include the brand’s third hotel in Shanghai, the 490-room Sheraton Shanghai Hong Kou Hotel, and the beachfront Sheraton Shenzhou Penninsula Resort on Hainan Island.

"China is leading the recovery in global tourism in 2010, and by 2020, it is expected to be the world’s largest tourism market," said Simon Turner, Starwood’s president of global development, in a prepared statement. "And as the Chinese pick up the pace of their domestic and international travel, they are going to stay with the brands they know, which will have a phenomenal impact on our global business."

Sheraton will invest another $ 5 billion to add approximately 35 new hotels to its portfolio by the end of 2015 and half of those new properties are in China, underscoring "the tremendous potential of this vast, dynamic market, where the rising middle class is clamoring for high-caliber, global brands," said Hoyt Harper, Sheraton’s global brand leader, in the statement