Accor plans Thai expansion

Accor Asia Pacific is set to add a further 16 properties to its Thailand operations by 2012.

Accor Asia Pacific is set to add a further 16 properties to its Thailand operations by 2012.

The company is predicting that the new ventures will add a total of 3,642 rooms to its Thai portfolio – bringing the total number it manages in the region to 13,539, reported the Bangkok Times.

It is expected that people taking flights to Phuket and other key resorts will benefit from the new properties, with 11 expected to be operating before the end of 2011 and the remaining five to open in 2012.

Michael Issenberg, Accor’s chairman and chief operating officer, explained that its mid-priced hotels will benefit from the growing interest in Thai tourism from China and India. He also suggested that the surge in low-cost flights to Thailand was also a driving factor for the market in the long-term.

Accor currently have a number of properties already established in Thailand including Sofitel Centara Grand Bangkok hotel and the Sofitel Bangkok Silom.

Written by Erin Marshall.