French hotel group Accor S.A. said Tuesday it expected to double its number of hotels on the mainland and in Hong Kong to 50 by 2007.

Accor operates hotels under various names, including the top-tier Sofitel, "business class" Novotel, mid-market Mercure and the economy Ibis hotels.

The group plans to spend about US$61.6 million to build 26 hotels in China in the next two years, including 15 Ibis hotels, Accor Asia Pacific president Michael Issenberg said.

"The growth of Ibis reflects the vast increases in domestic and regional travel in China," Issenberg said.

The company also said it would open eight Sofitel hotels under management contracts.

One will open in Xi'an in June and two others by the end of this year in Hangzhou and Haikou. Others are planned for the cities of Xiamen, Suzhou, Shijiazhuang, Nanjing and Liyang.

Accor now runs 20 hotels on the mainland and four in Hong Kong. Around the world, Accor has about 4,000 hotels in 90 countries.

Issenberg said China currently contributed less than 1 percent of the group's profits, but that was expected to increase fivefold within the next five years.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2005)