IHG Hotels & Resorts has reached 1,012 open hotels in the Asia Pacific region following stand-out openings in 2023 across many of its brands including Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Regent Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Vignette Collection, voco hotels and Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts.
The APAC region is poised to see the most rapid growth in passenger traffic globally over the long term and newly relaxed travel arrangements – including visa-waiver agreements between countries, and the creation of new flight routes and new airlines– are boosting demand for hotel stays in APAC, IHG said on 14 March.
As such, the hotel group’s expansion across the region will continue. Currently, IHG says it has 705 hotels in 22 countries across 13 brands in the pipeline.
Going forward, IHG sees people travelling and spending more on experiences and to cater to this demand the group is exploring upcoming destinations including Halong Bay, Nagasaki, Penang, Lifou, Hubei and Taichung.
Business travel bookings, including for groups and meetings, are also on the up, with APAC accounting for the largest share of global business travel spend and poised to reach US$800 billion by 2027. This includes the return of large conferences and events such as the upcoming World Business Forum in Singapore, IHG said.
“To hit 1,000 open hotels in Asia Pacific – including more than 700 in Greater China – is a fantastic achievement for IHG in one of the most dynamic regions in the world.
We’re also investing in our six Luxury & Lifestyle brands, which account for 22% of our global pipeline, around twice the amount five years ago. We have built up a strong presence in this segment in the region, with 45% of the global Luxury & Lifestyle pipeline in APAC. It is home to about 60% of our InterContinental brand’s global pipeline, as well as iconic award-winning hotels across Six Senses and Regent,” said Rajit Sukumaran, SVP and Managing Director, East Asia & Pacific, IHG Hotels & Resorts.
“Industry statistics are showing a strong construction pipeline of over 5,700 projects across the region with over 1,200 to open this year alone in the hospitality sector,” he added.
