Accor sees improvement in China and Hong Kong

Accor has accelerated the pace of its 'Smile Across Asia' promotional campaign as travellers begin to return to the group's hotels in China and Hong Kong.

Occupancy levels in its China hotels jumped 96 per cent in June compared to May, while hotels in Hong Kong improved by over 13 per cent during the same period. Promotional campaigns originally intended to start running late August in Hong Kong and mainland-based publications was brought forward to early July to take advantage of the increased confidence amongst Asian travellers.

Business travel to Hong Kong is also expected to improve with the rescheduled Hong Kong Gift and Premium Fair in July followed by the Asia Pacific Leather Fair in October. Both events were cancelled last April at the height of the SARS outbreak.

Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing Asia Pacific, Mr Ray Stone, said the pace of recovery was encouraging.

"Accelerating the 'Smile Across Asia' campaign is a positive sign, even if it is still very early in the recovery process. It reflects both the market trend and Accor's confidence in Hong Kong and China and our intention to have a significant presence there."

When the SARS virus first broke out, Accor targeted domestic travellers in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam where it has the highest concentration of  hotels. The return of regional travellers is expected to spark an international comeback as the situation continues to improve.

Having just returned from two major travel events in Australia and New Zealand - Australian Tourism Exchange and TRENZ - Stone said the feedback from customers "was beginning to turn positive."