Hilton Hotels Corp. wants to add 300 hotels to the 47 it already operates in Asia over the next decade, as it seeks to catch up with rivals and cash in on the boom in business and leisure travel in India and China, senior company executives say, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Hilton, with nine brands ranging from the opulent Waldorf-Astoria Collection to the thriftier Hampton Inn, expects to manage the majority of these new hotels and leave the investment and ownership of them to others.

“The Asia region is one of our absolute top priorities for our business and development,” said Hilton’s Chief Executive and President Chris Nassetta. “The strategy is to put about 300 new hotels in the region. We’d like to do better than that, but that’s our goal.” He estimated the value of these planned hotels to be in “the tens of billions of dollars.”

Mr. Nassetta has viewed international expansion as a priority since he joined U.S.-based Hilton last year. Hilton reunited with its overseas arm, Hilton International, in 2006, a step that primed the enlarged company for a burst of international growth.

Hilton is focusing initially on India, where it has a joint venture with local property firm DLF Ltd. that aims to open 75 hotels within the next five years, Mr. Nassetta said. Starting in India’s big cities, where population density limits the availability of land suitable for international-standard hotels, Hilton plans to introduce its Hilton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn brands.

DLF’s property holdings should give Hilton an edge over some of its competitors, said Koos Klein, president of Hilton Hotels in the Asia-Pacific region. “In India, a lot of people have plans, but not a lot of land. DLF does,” Mr. Klein said. Hilton currently operates no hotels in India.

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