KUALA LUMPUR: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is on track to triple its brand of hotels in Malaysia in the next five years, Southeast Asia and Korea managing director Rajit Sukumaran said.
He said while the global pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the hospitality sector, the demand for IHG's trusted brands continues to grow.
"We are aiming to triple the size of our estate in Malaysia in the next five years and so build further on our relationship with this beautiful, 'must-visit' country.
"We currently have four hotels across three of our brands there, and we're looking forward to extending that to more than 14 hotels across six brands within the next five years, which will be truly fantastic.
"It is already been exciting to see how we are rejuvenating our IHG portfolio in the country by opening outstanding hotels, such as the flagship Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre last month, and we look forward to more," Rajit said in a virtual briefing today.
He said IHG is confident of its future success in Malaysia despite the many difficulties faced by the hospitality industry because of Covid-19.
"There is still plenty of reason for optimism. History tells us that travel will return and, as demand comes back, we will be well-positioned to welcome guests to our hotels – and continue to grow.
"There will clearly be bumps in the road, but governments across South East Asia and Korea have reacted to reduce the spread of Covid-19 which means that, in most markets, we have seen restrictions start to ease and the easier movement of people domestically, even if borders remain closed.
"This means we have been able to re-open most of our hotels, and we are also still continuing to grow as we open and sign new properties," he said.
Rajit said globally, the group has opened more than 80 new hotels in the third quarter (Q3) and has also signed more than 80 hotels in the quarter which adds up to 263 signings this year – almost one a day.
Meanwhile, IHG Southeast Asia and Korea development vice president Serena Lim said Malaysia is an important part of our overall growth strategy and the mainstream hotel segment is key to the company's strategy in the country.
"Mainstream travel is proving to be the most resilient to the crisis around the world, and it's where we are seeing occupancy levels rebuild the quickest.
"We see it as key to our growth in Peninsula Malaysia and East Malaysia, where we are seeking to unlock secondary markets such as Ipoh, Alor Setar, Kuching and Miri," she said.