ACCOR GROUP EYES M'SIA FOR IBIS HOTEL

By Nor Baizura Basri

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- French multinational corporation,
Accor Group is eyeing Malaysia for its economy hotel chain, Ibis Hotel, given
the rising interest in the country as a top tourist destination in the region.

Ibis is Accor's economy hotel brand, which has expanded rapidly around the
world and become the European market leader in the economy hotel industry and
one of the five largest worldwide operators.

Currently, it has 800 hotels in 40 countries.

"Malaysia offers nature, cultural experience and great shopping which makes
it a key destination for all the hoteliers, making sure they have presence not
just inbound and outbound but being there," said Hiro Inoue, the director of
marketing for Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen.

Besides being strategically located in the region, he said the country has
become an attraction for tourists particularly from South Korea and Japan due to
lower currency exchanges rates.

Beside Malaysia, Ibis has yet to have any presence in these countries in the
Southeast Asia region namely Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and the
Philippines.

"We actually have had regular meetings with potential parties in Malaysia
and have not gone to a point where we could announce where, how and when," he
told Bernama in an interview recently.

However, Inoue said focus would likely be in areas where growing businesses
are, such as Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.

When asked what kind of partnership the group was looking at for the
venture, he said there were various levels of business interest which could be
achieved between the parties.

"We currently have a number of opportunities. I just can't discuss it yet,"
he said.

Inoue said some Ibis hotels are fully owned by Accor particularly in
strategic locations, some are through joint venture while others are managed
hotels.

Under Ibis' worldwide expansion plan, it expects to have 1,100 hotels by
next year in more than 70 countries across all five continents.

According to the plan, the Asia Pacific region, where 40 percent of these
new establishments will be opened, will be the main growth market for Ibis.

Late February this year, Accor opened its first hotel in Singapore, Ibis on
Bencoolen, which is a joint venture between Accor and La Salle Investment Group.

The hotel which is also the largest Ibis hotel outside Europe, is 30 percent
owned by Accor while La Salle, which is also the developer, owns 70 percent.

-- BERNAMA