InterContinental Hotels Group has opened 400 hotels in China, the number of its Chinese hotels will double, together with another 341 under construction by the end of last year.
UK-based IHG had about 78,000 hotel rooms under construction in China as of the end of last year, and the company will site its new projects, especially mid-end hotels, in second-, third- and fourth-tier cities to save costs, Jolyon Bulley, chief executive of IHG China, said in an interview with Yicai Global.
IHG chose Zhuhai, a city in southern China, for the celebration of the opening of its 400th hotel in China. This reflects its determination to develop in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, above all Hengqin Island.
IHG has already contacted developers on the island to understand local conditions and the planning for tourism, finance, education and commerce. The company will build more hotel projects in Hengqin and is very upbeat about the local tourism hotel sector's future development, Bulley said.
China has become IHG's second-largest market, and the company seeks long-term growth in the country by developing or introducing diversified hotel operating patterns. It will focus on several major strategies, including accelerating growth, deepening the franchise model, speeding up the development of mid-end hotels, maintaining innovation and training local professionals, Bulley stated.
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