China: Frasers Hospitality is expanding its footprint in smaller cities in China, driven by the presence of more international companies and demand from domestic travellers.
Frasers officially opened its 16th Chinese Fraser Suites property in Dalian, a port city in north-eastern Liaoning province on Friday May 18, as part of plans to double its number of properties under this brand across China.
“No one can ignore China, it is such a growing nation,” said Frasers Hospitality chief executive Choe Peng Sum.
The addition of the 259-unit development in Dalian comes after the company opened four properties in Hunan’s provincial capital Changsha, the northern port city Tianjin and southern Shenzhen last year.
In the next few years, it will add another 14 serviced apartments, which include expansions to new cities such as Nanchang in southeastern Jiangxi and Haikou in southern Hainan.
“With a lot of foreign direct investments coming into China, it is fuelling that growth,” Choe, adding that the huge domestic market is another key driver of its business in the country.
“As Chinese travellers become familiar with our product through their domestic travels, they are also choosing us for their outbound trips. Globally, we have seen a 10 per cent growth in the number of room nights booked by Chinese travellers from 2016 to 2017,” said Choe. “In our Paris properties, at least 20 per cent of our customers are Chinese tourists, spending 500 euros a day. They are now very willing to spend top dollar on quality experience. It’s not just about shopping any more.”
