Luxury hotel brands expanding operations

Luxury hotel management brands are stepping up their expansion plans in Vietnam to prepare for continued recovery in the years to come.

IHG Hotel & Resorts, owner of brands such as Six Senses, InterContinental, Regent, and Crowne Plaza, has announced a long-term development plan in Vietnam to make the country a key market in Southeast Asia.

In addition to 15 hotels within five brands currently under its management nationwide, IHG plans to open 22 more hotels over the next 3-5 years.

“The group will focus on bringing more world-famous brands to Vietnam, including luxury brand Voco Hotel, luxury boutique hotel brand Hotel Indigo, and Holiday Inn Express,” said Mr. Rajit Sukumaran, Managing Director of IHG Southeast Asia and South Korea.

According to Savills Hotels, foreign companies are focusing on expanding in Vietnam. It is expected that there will be about 160 branded resorts in tourist destinations this year, twice as many as in 2019.

Many analysts believe that with tourist numbers rising, Vietnam’s hotel and resort market will become attractive to many investors in the region.

The number of domestic tourists in the first ten months of this year reached 91.8 million, surpassing the figure in 2019, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. Data from the General Statistics Office shows that the number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first ten months reached 2.3 million, 18.8-fold higher year-on-year.

IHG’s latest search data also shows that visitors from the US, Australia, India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea actively seek information on Vietnam as a destination. Mr. Sukumaran also believes that domestic tourism will develop further in the future.