Emerging markets

Elong Hotel, a hotel management unit of Hong Kong-listed online travel company Tongcheng-Elong, plans to have a facility in Jakarta, Indonesia, up and running by the end of this year.

"The hotel will offer the same high-quality products and services as in China, ensuring that travelers can experience the same familiar living environment overseas," said Zhou Qunxia, brand manager of Elong Hotel, which has more than 4,000 operations across the country and 20 million guest members.

The hotel's offerings will include premium bedding, comprehensive guest amenities, and butler service, Zhou said.

"At the same time, the hotel will also consider local customs and preferences to provide localized services," she said.

Elong Hotel already has hotels in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, as well as Cambodia.

Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea are the first choices for Elong Hotel, when it comes to locations for expanding its operations, Zhou said.

"Compared with the saturated hotel markets in Europe and the United States, these emerging markets are in a booming development phase and are still largely untapped," Zhou explained.

"The rapid economic growth in these emerging markets and the increasing demand for outbound tourism from Chinese travelers since last year provide vast opportunities for the hotel industry," she added.

The governments of these countries have offered tax incentives and investment subsidies to attract foreign investment and promote tourism development, creating a favorable environment for establishing and operating a hotel, Zhou said. With the introduction of favorable visa policies and the growing eagerness of Chinese people to travel, the outbound tourism market has seen a good recovery, she added.

The number of outbound tourists in 2023 exceeded 87 million, according to the annual report on China's outbound tourism development (2023-24) by the China Tourism Academy. The report predicts the number of outbound tourists will reach 130 million in 2024.

During the recent Dragon Boat Festival, searches for hotels overseas grew by 50 percent over the same period in 2019, an indication of the huge potential of outbound tourism, major travel agency Trip.com Group reported.

The large volume of Chinese travelers is poised to inject a major boost into the international tourism market and change the landscape of the international accommodation and travel industry, said Li Liang, CEO of the accommodation side of Tongcheng-Elong travel agency.

In the first three months of this year, overnight hotel room bookings increased by more than 150 percent year-on-year, the agency reported.

Li said young Chinese travelers are a big part of this increase, adding their destination choices, travel planning, and preferences differ from previous outbound travelers.

"They tend to make impromptu decisions … so we need to listen to their needs when designing products and services," Li said.

While "first-tier" travelers still constitute the major portion of outbound travelers, Li said special attention is needed to cater to young people who will become a key growth area for the outbound tourism business.

Areas that need to be looked at include more convenient booking procedures, more flexible hotel reservations and cancellations, and better cost efficiency.

Regional reach

The increasingly competitive domestic hotel market is a key driving force behind Chinese hotel companies expanding abroad.

Chain hotels accounted for 38.79 percent of China's hotel industry in 2023 and are expected to reach 45 percent in 2024, according to ABN Data, an Asian travel and accommodation research institute.

The popularity of Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries as travel destinations and their governments' supportive policies for hotel industry development, make them attractive propositions for Chinese hotel operators looking to build their businesses.

These countries also have advantages through their well-developed tourism infrastructure and services, which cover transportation, catering and entertainment.

The hotel market in Southeast Asia is forecast to yield a profit of $13.63 billion this year, and is expected to reach $15.89 billion in 2028, according to Statista.

Over the years, Chinese hotel chains have gained experience in expanding their operations abroad.

In 2011, Jin Jiang Hotels signed a deal with a Philippine company, and has since directly managed or franchised hotels in the Philippines. The same year, the Guangdong-headquartered Dossen opened its budget hotels in Malaysia.

Many other Chinese hotel businesses have joined the wave of going abroad through brand acquisition, franchising and overseas investment.

In December 2023, Zhejiang-based Landison Hotel Group opened its first operation in Nagano, Japan.

The Shanghai-based H World Group will open a new operation in Bangkok, Thailand, this year.

The CTG Hotel Holdings Corp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based China Tourism Group, has also made breakthroughs in the Southeast Asian market. It has engaged in brand franchise cooperation with international hotel groups such as IHG Hotels and Resorts, Wyndham, and Hilton.

Currently, the Chinese hotel group has signed agreements to manage nine hotels in Thailand, with four hotels already opened and receiving positive market feedback.