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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