Accor Predicts Faster Growth in China

PARIS-Accor officials see China as its fastest growing market and suggests the breadth and depth of the potential makes the market unique.

A statement by the company says that the group was experiencing rapid growth in Russia, India and Brazil, but for sheer volume Accor’s focus was mainly on China as brisk economic growth opens a huge market for domestic travelers.

Accor plans to operate 30 Sofitel hotels in China by the end of next year, making the country the second-largest market for the group’s premier five-star brand, after its home market, France. A company spokesman says that within five years China could overtake France. The hotel chain plans to spend euro 2.7 billion ($3.3 billion) globally to add at least 200,000 rooms over the next four years, compared with the 475,000 rooms it owned or had access to at the end of last year.