Hotel giant IHG unveils massive Vietnam expansion plans

By Vien Thong March 19, 2021 | 05:24 pm PT

InterContinental Hotels Group, owner of brands such as Six Senses and InterContinential, is eyeing 50 percent growth in the number of properties within the next two years.

Rajit Sukumaran, IHG managing director, Southeast Asia and South Korea, said the plan to increase the number of hotels in Vietnam is part of a global strategy that has been consolidated by Vietnam’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Seashore at InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort in the central city of Da Nang, Vietnam. Photo by Shutterstock/SenSeHi.

Hailing the government’s efforts to control the pandemic, he said all this company’s hotels in Vietnam have started to welcome guests again and seen a surge in bookings by both leisure and business travelers.

The British company has 13 properties in Vietnam with 3,700 rooms, including at luxury brands Six Senses and InterContinential.

Vietnam recorded a 79 percent decline year-on-year in the number of foreign visitors in 2020 due to travel restrictions amid the pandemic as the country received 3.83 million foreign tourists against a record 18 million in 2019, according to official data.