Accor to double China hotel portfolio

China is on track to overtake the United States and become the world's largest hospitality and tourism market within seven to 10 years, said Accor Chairman and CEO Sebastien Bazin at a recent news conference held at the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai.

At the event, the French hospitality group signed a raft of new luxury and upscale hotel project deals across key Chinese markets and laid out an ambitious growth roadmap to double its domestic portfolio to 1,600 properties over the next five to six years, underscoring its long-term commitment to one of the world's most resilient travel markets.

"The main reason, no doubt, is that China will be the largest hospitality market in the world. China will be bigger than America in seven to 10 years as both a host country and a source country, which means we can grow in tier-one, tier-two and tier-three cities," Bazin said.

Accor considers China one of the few core strategic markets capable of driving significant growth and serving as a key engine for global expansion.

Inbound tourist arrivals to China have maintained an average annual growth rate of 20 percent over the past three years.

"Visa-free access has helped tremendously in bringing people to China and social media and TikTok have given huge visibility to what China is," Bazin said. "People want to come more and more to China."

After over 40 years in the market, Accor operates more than 830 hotels across more than 50 cities in China, encompassing 17 brands and over 140,000 rooms. Its comprehensive brand matrix ranges from luxury to economy, with over 50 luxury hotels in operation and over 40 luxury projects in the pipeline.

Kent Zhu, CEO of Accor Greater China, said the group is pursuing quality-focused expansion alongside scale. "We are not simply pursuing scale growth; instead, we are focusing more on creating experiential value and building a sound brand ecosystem," he noted.

At the news conference, Accor signed six new luxury and upscale hotel project deals, covering key markets in the Yangtze River Delta region, northern and western China.

Beyond the new signings, several landmark renovation projects are progressing steadily. The 117-year-old former Dalian Hotel will be converted into a Fairmont hotel. The Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai will be upgraded to a Raffles property.

According to Bazin, the rapid evolution of China's consumer market and its innovation with artificial intelligence are the two core drivers behind the group's deepened commitment.

On the consumer side, nearly 40 percent of China's high-net-worth individuals are under the age of 35, shifting consumption preferences from material display to lifestyle enjoyment and emotional experiences.

Meanwhile, the nation's elderly population of more than 300 million people over 60 years of age has ample savings and a strong willingness to travel, together forming diversified growth momentum.

On the technology front, Bazin spoke highly of China's AI innovation capabilities, which he believes will reshape the entire travel industry. "The Chinese are showing me the way to innovate, the way to plan and the way to power experiences. Each consumer will have AI-powered trip planning. Each of you will basically have your personal itinerary through your AI agent," he said.