Asia-Pacific: the 1,000 mark for IHG, growth for Hyatt

One year after Marriott, IHG has just passed the symbolic threshold of 1000 hotels in Asia-Pacificincluding more than 700 in the Greater China region alone. " A fantastic success "IHG's success has been hailed by Rajit Sukumaran, the British group's managing director for East Asia and the Pacific. To achieve this result, IHG was able to rely on the attractiveness of its "mainstream" brands Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, which represent both half of IHG's existing portfolio in the APAC region, as well as half of the future hotels in the pipeline.

However, the luxury and lifestyle segments have also made their contribution, as in the case of the prestigious flagship of the Regent brand, recently reopened in Hong Kong. The upmarket hotel sector is also set to play a major role in the Group's growth in the region over the coming years. More than half the InterContinentals expected worldwide - six out of ten - will be opening in Asia-Pacific. More generally, whether it's Kimpton, Regent, the Vignette Collection or Hotel Indigo, all these brands have numerous openings in the pipeline.

In total, out of the 1,950 establishments in the IHG pipeline, 705 of them have Asia-Pacific as their destination, in 22 countries across the region and through 13 brands. One of these is Garner, a recently launched mid-range brand which already has three projects in Osaka, Japan. This brand, which focuses on the conversion of existing hotels, has already " a great future throughout the region" says Rajit Sukumaran.

To supply all these establishments, IHG can count on the development of tourism in Asia, which explains the new hotels expected in leisure destinations such as Halong Bay, Nagasaki, Penang, Hubei and Taichung. But the British group can also count on the clear upturn in business travel and meetings in the region. Especially as " APAC accounts for the largest share of global business travel expenditure, expected to reach US$800 billion by 2027" according to GBTA | TTGmice estimates put forward by the hotelier.