AccorHotels aims to open 17 more hotels in Thailand including eight in Bangkok plus another six in Myanmar through 2019, to take advantage of rising tourism in Southeast Asia, Reuters reported.
The Paris-based group, which runs 60 hotels in Thailand and three in Myanmar, expects Bangkok to be its biggest Asia-Pacific market by 2019, Patrick Basset, chief operating officer for Southeast and Northeast Asia said.
He said Thai revenue growth would slow to around 10 percent this year from 21 percent in 2015, when tourists returned following a drop the year earlier when the country was engulfed in political unrest that culminated in a military coup.
Likewise, Thailand’s hotel occupancy will rise as much as four percentage points this year compared with nine percentage points last year, he said.
Tourism makes up about 10 percent of Thailand’s gross domestic product and is one of few bright spots in an economy growing at a slower rate than regional peers. Visitors reached a record 29.9 million last year and could hit 32 million this year, the government has said.
AccorHotels operates upscale, mid-range and budget hotels under the Pullman, Novotel and ibis brands, with 13,944 rooms in Thailand and plans for another 4,044 rooms by 2019.
AccorHotels also aims to renovate rooms with a budget of 750,000 baht (US$21,400) per room over the next five years.
On Myanmar, Basset said growth is likely to be strong due to a low base, even as hotel numbers tripled over the past three years and revPAR fell 20 percent last year.
Accor targets 17 more hotels in Thailand
