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Plans for Management of More than 12 New Hotels |
| 27 May 2004: Accor, one of the largest hotel
and tourism groups in the world, will this year celebrate its 10th anniversary
in New Zealand, with plans to double its network in the next three years.
The company currently operates 14 hotels across its Novotel, Mercure and
Ibis brands in key business and tourism centres including Auckland, Wellington,
Rotorua, Hamilton, Queenstown and the Coromandel Peninsula and has announced
aggressive expansion plans that include the management of more than 12
new hotels over the next few years.
Developments currently under-way or in final planning will add a further 1200 rooms, and will see all of Accor's major brands operating in the New Zealand marketplace. These include:
Accor announced today its first hotel in Christchurch, a 160-room Ibis hotel that will be built in the centre of the city at Cathedral Square. It will be the first new hotel built in Christchurch for over a decade. Projects currently under construction and set to be managed by Accor in the next 12 months include a 140-room Ibis in Rotorua, a 96-room Novotel in Palmerston North and the first Sofitel in New Zealand, with the five-star luxury brand to open in Queenstown in June 2005 with an 83 all-suite hotel. An agreement has also been signed to build a 120-room Novotel in the city centre on a site owned by the city council, which will be Tauranga's first international hotel. Accor's hugely successful budget hotel brand, Formule 1, is also scheduled to make its debut in New Zealand, planned in 2005 for Auckland and Wellington. Sites have already been chosen for this purpose. In addition, Base Backpackers has launched the most comprehensive network of hostels in the country, including Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. "We see New Zealand as one of the region's most vibrant and resilient tourism and hospitality markets," said Accor's General Manager New Zealand, Neil Scanlan. "Not only was New Zealand less affected by the global tourism downturn of 2002-3, but it has achieved an important market position thanks to its image as a safe, friendly and very attractive destination that offers excellent value for money. "The increase in air access, especially from new low-cost carriers, has seen vast increases in demand for mid-market and economy style accommodation, and this is the direction of Accor's development strategy in New Zealand." Latest inbound figures highlight this point, with New Zealand recording a 23% increase in inbound visitors in April 2004 compared to April 2003. Australian arrivals were up 29 per cent. Tourism New Zealand said it was the largest month-on-month increase in 12 years and the best April on record. While the figures were skewed because of the early effects of SARS on the 2003 figures, most of New Zealand's major markets from Asia have recovered to pre-SARS levels with Japan showing a 13% increase in April 2004 and the sensitive American market up 17.4%. Since launching in New Zealand with Novotel Auckland in April 1994, Accor has truly made its mark, steadily building one of the country's most successful hotel portfolios. Accor's global network and strong brand recognition have seen its New Zealand hotels regularly achieve the highest occupancy figures in the country. Year to date, its Mercure hotels have achieved occupancy rates of over 83%, with Novotels achieving figures of over 80% and Ibis over 70%. Novotel Gardens Queenstown, formerly with Park Royal, has improved its occupancy rate under Accor's management to 89.5% for the first quarter of 2004. "Accor has a proven record in New Zealand which has allowed our network to grow quickly as hotel owners look for more professional management of their properties," said Neil Scanlan, Accor's General Manager New Zealand. "Accor's hotels are performing strongly in all sectors, with Mercure Grand St Moritz in Queenstown receiving the 'Best Hotel' award in the New Zealand Tourism Awards for two years in a row and its hotels regularly achieving the highest occupancy in Queenstown. "Just as in Australia, Accor now has all major tourist and business destinations in New Zealand covered and we will continue to grow the network strategically to ensure that no matter where people travel in New Zealand they will find an Accor hotel to suit their needs." Accor operates a major regional office in Auckland. Accor is the worldwide leader in hotels, tourism and corporate services, employing 150,000 people in 140 countries. |
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Accor Peter Hook
Neil Scanlan
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