Related News
Shangri-La sees 60% of its hotels in China
By Cao Qian |
September 12, 2009, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SHANGRI-LA Hotels and Resorts, a leading luxury hotel group in Asia Pacific, said it plans to double its China presence within four years as it taps the long-term positive outlook for the country's hospitality industry.
"By that time, about 60 percent of the group's hotels will be located in China, up from the current 40 percent," Sarah Chen, vice president for sales and marketing, told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
"We are targeting key secondary cities for future expansion as travel demand is set to grow rapidly over the coming years," she said.
The Hong Kong-based hospitality company now runs 29 hotels, or more than 10,000 rooms, on the Chinese mainland. It opened its first property in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, in 1984.
To strengthen its position in China, which has been playing an increasingly important role for the company's global development, Shangri-La has been expending much efforts in marketing and sales over the past eight months to combat an unfavorable market environment mainly caused by the global financial crisis, the H1N1 pandemic as well as intense competition brought by new entrants to the industry.
"Despite all that, we always remain optimistic about a robust growth in travel demand in China due to its strong economy," Chen added.
"Besides, the country's rising role as a major financial center and a popular tourism destination will also help the domestic hospitality industry."
However, the latest quarterly research done by property services provider Savills found that the luxury hotel market in Shanghai is still far from recovery.
The occupancy rate at the city's five-star hotels was lower than in the same period last year, with only 51.8 percent of rooms being booked on average.
"By that time, about 60 percent of the group's hotels will be located in China, up from the current 40 percent," Sarah Chen, vice president for sales and marketing, told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
"We are targeting key secondary cities for future expansion as travel demand is set to grow rapidly over the coming years," she said.
The Hong Kong-based hospitality company now runs 29 hotels, or more than 10,000 rooms, on the Chinese mainland. It opened its first property in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, in 1984.
To strengthen its position in China, which has been playing an increasingly important role for the company's global development, Shangri-La has been expending much efforts in marketing and sales over the past eight months to combat an unfavorable market environment mainly caused by the global financial crisis, the H1N1 pandemic as well as intense competition brought by new entrants to the industry.
"Despite all that, we always remain optimistic about a robust growth in travel demand in China due to its strong economy," Chen added.
"Besides, the country's rising role as a major financial center and a popular tourism destination will also help the domestic hospitality industry."
However, the latest quarterly research done by property services provider Savills found that the luxury hotel market in Shanghai is still far from recovery.
The occupancy rate at the city's five-star hotels was lower than in the same period last year, with only 51.8 percent of rooms being booked on average.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
