InterContinental checking in to China

World number one hotelier InterContinental Hotels is looking to emerging markets and especially China to drive future growth after a recovery in the United States and a string of new Chinese hotel openings helped push 2011 profits up 26 per cent.

By The Newsroom

Published 15th Feb 2012, 06:00 BST

The hotelier, home to Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn as well as the InterContinental brand, said business was improving in the US, led by a healthier economy and job creation in a region which makes well over half the group’s profit.

Greater China, which was reporting numbers as a separate region for the first time, saw the group’s highest growth rate as it opened over 8,000 new rooms in the year, while over a quarter of the group’s new global hotel pipeline is in China. Chief executive Richard Solomons said that despite the eurozone crisis he was upbeat about the future as people still wanted to travel for business and leisure, while emerging markets were growing strongly.

“We go where the travellers are. We see good momentum in the US economy while China is our fastest growing region,” he said.

China United States