France's Accor SA, the largest hotel operator in Europe, said over the weekend it planned to open 20 new hotels in China in the coming years to tap the world's most populous market.

The announcement came right after it signed a deal Thursday to open its five-star Sofitel brand hotel in Beijing.

Accor is also in talks with Chinese real-estate developer Dalian Wanda Group to establish a joint venture to open Ibis budget hotels in the northern city of Dalian.

The Paris-based company currently operates 24 hotels on the Chinese mainland using its Sofitel, Novotel, Ibis and Century brands.

It opened its first mainland Ibis hotel in Tianjin Municipality late last year, which immediately saw occupancy rates climb to 90 percent, said David Baffsky, chairman of Accor Asia-Pacific.

“The Tianjin Ibis hotel has been a great success,” Baffsky said. “Our occupancy rate has consistently stayed at 90 percent.”

The hotel had a flat room rate of 188 yuan (US$22.7) a night, he added.

China’s annual tourism market is predicted to expand from US$87 billion to more than US$300 billion within the next 10 years, according to World Travel and Tourism Council estimates.

The organization also predicts China will surpass France, Spain, Italy and the United States to become the world’s top destination by 2020.

“This is growth of a magnitude that has never been seen before,” Baffsky said. “So for Accor it is very important to have a program in China that is part of its global program.”

Accor operates nearly 4,000 hotels worldwide under seven brand names covering various segments from economy to upscale.

(Shenzhen Daily December 20, 2004)