Tokyo-based Hotel Okura is opening its first spa and resort in Turkey, tentatively called the Okura Spa & Resort Cappadocia, in 2017.

Located in Mustafapasa, near the Cappadocia UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 130-bedroom resort will feature suites with Jacuzzis, indoor/outdoor pools, dining and meeting facilities, and a spa – which is still in development.

“Opening hotels in Turkey will help us raise the level of our brand recognition in the global market,” said Toshihiro Ogita, Hotel Okura's president and representative director. “Turkey has historically been a focal point of east-meets-west, so it's a perfect market for us to leverage."

Hotel Okura plans to open multiple properties in Turkey, including sites in Ankara and Istanbul. Its subsidiary, JAL Hotels, has plans to open Hotel Nikko Suzhou and Hotel Nikko Taizhou this year in China, as well as Hotel Nikko Bangkok in 2018, a Manila property in 2018, and The Okura Prestige Phnom Penh in 2019. The company said it intends to increase the number of international properties in its portfolio to become 50 per cent of the total in the next few years.