Currently, the firm operates 550
hotels in Asia and the Pacific and in 2015 this number is expected to rise to
700. The total number of rooms will increase to 133,200 in 2015, from 105,000
this year.
In Asean, there are 131 hotel
properties operated by Accor under such brands as Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery,
Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis Styles, Ibis, and Ibis Budget.
In Thailand, budget-hotel
expansion will be the focus in the future because of rising demand, especially
from middle-aged and individual tourists. Accor found that more than 30 per
cent of travellers were looking for good accommodation at an affordable price.
Patrick Basset, Accor senior vice
president for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines, said Asean
was a key market for the company, driven especially by the approach of the
Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. The integration is expected to boost
intra-Asean tourism as well as visitors to the region.
The AEC will also help mobilise
the labour force regionally. Thailand will benefit from the trend of choosing
qualified people from outside to work with. In contrast, the number of Thais
going to work elsewhere in the region is expected to be low because they prefer
to work in their motherland.
Thailand is one of Accor's
strategic markets. Currently, the chain operates 50 hotels under nine brands
across the Kingdom. Over the next few years, eight new hotels under different
Accor brands will be in the pipeline. Three will belong to Ibis, three to
Mercure, and one each for Pullman and Novotel.
Basset said the outlook for the
hospitality industry in the Kingdom remained good, once the political and
economic climate is under control. Especially next year, it is clear that the
MICE market (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) will be very
promising. However, what the country should do to make it more competitive is
improve infrastructure, especially mass transit.
Advantageously, there is still a
low international-brand penetration in Thailand, with 15-20 per cent, compared
with the United States, where it stands at 95 per cent, and Europe at 35 per
cent. As a result, this trend will open a business opportunity for Accor here.
Also, the number of foreign
tourists, especially from China and Russia coming to Thailand has kept rising.
Accor saw the trend and has started training its staff in new languages,
especially Russian and Mandarin, to welcome guests from those two nations.
BAMRUNG AMNATCHAROENRIT
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Health care and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN 's area. We are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, if any request, please, contact directly Dr Christian SIODMAK, business strategist, owner and CEO of SBC at christian.siodmak@gmail.com. Many thanks.
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