Sofitel Luxury
Hotels, the French hotel group, revealed development plans targeting 10
locations in China
to attain a total of 150 hotels worldwide by 2015, highlighting the continued expected
strength of the country’s economy.

The firm has become
a major hotel player in China,
with 18 branches, globally making Chinese clientele the
brand’s primary nationality, it said in a statement.

When viewing the state of the luxury
hotel industry as a barometer of
the wealth sector, expansion plans for the coming years can be interpreted as a
sign of continued confidence in China's
consumer purchasing power, and in the impending rise of a large and affluent
middle class.

And Sofitel
Luxury Hotel group isn’t the only hotelier with ambitious Sino-growth plans –
Swire; Fairmont;
Swissôtel; Marriott; and Mission Hills hotel chains have all recently announced
upcoming openings on the Mainland.

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