Global hotel chains are increasingly targeting booming emerging economies for expansion, with China set to become major battlefields for future growth.

As emerging markets turn into the growth engines of the 21st century, slower growth at home has led investors and hotel companies to pursue aggressive expansion abroad. China in particular has become one such battleground for operating system power.

The InterContinental Hotels group, which owns the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands, has, for instance, announced a goal of 125 hotels in China by 2008.

French hotel group Accor , owner of the Sofitel brand, plans to open 200,000 new rooms by 2010, with two-thirds of them in emerging markets like China.

China had already become the largest source of travelers within Asia. Within 15 years, the number of Chinese overseas travelers is expected to rise tenfold to 100 million.

Source:佚名