Intercontinental Hotels Group is set for expansion across Eastern Europe, with 46 properties in the pipeline over the next three to five years, and four hotels due to open in the next few months.

The group unveiled the 160-room Holiday Inn Dabrowa Gornicza last month, located around 70km north west of Krakow.

This month sees the opening of Staybridge Suites Baku, and Hotel Indigo Krakow Old Town (pictured), while in October IHG will open a Holiday Inn property in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city.

Commenting on the expansion plans Robert Shepherd, Chief Development Officer, Europe, IHG said:

The success of our strategy in Eastern Europe has been fuelled by growing domestic travel, tourism from visa free countries including China, South Korea, India; as well as sustainable level of demand from our customers in Western Europe who are attracted by new travel experiences and low costs.

“Our outlook for the region is long-term. We are acting in order to ensure we provide options from across our brand portfolio to meet the demand from a range of consumer needs.”

IHG recently announced plans to open its first Intercontinental property in Bulgaria, with the existing Radisson Blu Grand Hotel Sofia being rebranded as the Intercontinental Sofia next year, once refurbishment works have been completed.

ihg.com