Accor to manage Nine new Hotels in China

Accor announced today its most significant expansion plans in China since it first entered the country's hotel market almost two decades ago. Nine new hotels were announced, including a pioneering move into China's economy hotel sector.

The nine new hotels will bring Accor's China network to 26 hotels under operation by the end of 2003 with five more scheduled to open in 2004.

Accor will manage five new Sofitels and two Novotels around the country. These include the Sofitel Westlake Hangzhou (200 rooms), Sofitel Anshan (306 rooms), Sofitel Shijiazhuang (350 rooms), Sofitel Shenyang (370 rooms), Sofitel Wanda Chengdu (325 rooms) Novotel Oasis Beijing (155 rooms) and Novotel Nanjing (250 rooms). Accor will also introduce its Ibis brand to China's economy hotel sector, commencing with the opening of Ibis Tianjin (154 rooms), 120 kilometres southeast of Beijing, this October. A second Ibis hotel, Ibis Chengdu (150 rooms), will follow the third quarter of 2004 in China's Sichuan Province.

The important addition of new Sofitel and Novotel hotels further enhance Accor's strategy of building a comprehensive network of four and five-star hotels around China. These properties will greatly extend Accor's already significant presence in China's key commercial and leisure centres with notable additions to the network in Chengdu, Shenyang, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Anshan and Beijing.

The entry of Accor's Ibis economy brand in China marks another noteworthy milestone for the group, as the Ibis Tianjin will be one of the first internationally managed economy-brand hotel concepts in China, filling an important market niche for local business travellers and domestic tourists looking for quality accommodation at a fair price. Ibis, Accor's three-star brand, has over 600 hotels globally, including 10 in Indonesia, the first country in Asia to develop the brand, and one in Hong Kong.

In addition, Accor will also launch its first Ibis in Korea in October 2003. The Ibis Seoul enjoys a central city location and will be the testing ground for the brand in Korea. The expansion of the 3-star Ibis brand follows the successful launch of the 2-star economy hotel brand Formule 1 in Japan over the past two years.

Accor's decision to expand its economy hotel division in Asia Pacific recognises the changing travel patterns in the region. These include the emergence of a rapidly growing domestic travel market, the growth in intra-Asian business and leisure travel, and a worldwide move by corporations away from top-end accommodation in preference for mid-market and economy hotels.

Accor Asia Pacific Managing Director, Mr Michael Issenberg, said: "We see growing signs of an emerging class of travellers in China and Korea who will obviously not be looking to stay in five-star hotels but who do want international quality standards. At present there are no international brands operating in Asia that satisfy this market need, despite demand growing rapidly.

"We have already proved the viability of economy brands in the Asia Pacific region in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Japan. In Australia, Ibis is the best performing brand in the country, with its transparent pricing and value for money attracting a new generation of domestic travellers."

Mr Issenberg said that China in particular offered outstanding potential for growth in both its domestic and outbound markets, and while SARS had temporarily affected growth, there were already clear signs that the country's tourism industry was close to full recovery.

"These new management contracts represent Accor's biggest expansion in China to date and underline the importance the country holds to the group's growth worldwide," he said. "It allows Accor the opportunity to grow its presence in China's domestic travel network while building our hotel brands with Chinese travellers looking to go abroad."

China is ranked as the second largest outbound market in Asia after Japan according to the recently released statistics. Outbound travel from China is poised to reach 6.32 million travellers during the last six months of 2003, an 18 per cent increase from the same period last year.* Thailand, Japan and Korea are the favourite destinations for Chinese travellers in Asia, while Germany, France and the UK were top European long-haul holiday choices.

Mr Issenberg said that Accor's expansion in China in the past few years had been built on major partnerships with prominent local groups including Beijing Tourism Group (BTG) and the Jin Jiang International Management Corporation, partnerships that included both hotel developments and sales, marketing, reservations and e-commerce initiatives.

"Our recent successes start with our Chinese business partners, both in the government and private sectors," said Mr Issenberg. "We have been fortunate enough to learn from our past experiences in China, and the pace of our current growth is a reflection of the quality of the partnerships we've  established and the team that we have put in place in China.

"It is an exciting time for tourism and travel in China. While SARS had a devastating impact on the country's travel sector, it doesn't diminish the fact that the country offers the greatest potential for future growth, and that covers  inbound and outbound travel and domestic leisure and business travel. It is an ideal time to build a substantial hotel network in China, and it will help create the hospitality infrastructure for the country's economic expansion and the coming of the 2008 Olympic Games.

"Accor's concentration on the entire hotel sector - from luxury through to economy - in China will appeal to the changing patterns in both corporate and leisure domestic travel."

The latest expansion will give Accor a current commitment of 31 hotels under management around China by the end of 2004 under its Sofitel (12 hotels), Novotel (10 hotels) and Ibis (three hotels) brands. Accor also manages six hotels under the Zenith and Century brands. Recent high profile openings include Sofitel Boao on Hainan Island in April this year and Sofitel Jin Jiang Oriental Pudong in Shanghai in late 2002.

* Source: MasterIndex of Travel Forecast (July 2003) from MasterCard International and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).