SINGAPORE, 22 May 2018: Frasers Hospitality, a member of Frasers Property Group, celebrated the grand opening of Fraser Suites Dalian last week, a month after it soft-opened.
It follows on the heels of four properties that opened in Changsha, Tianjin and Shenzhen last year.
The global hospitality operator says it will grow its inventory by around 85% over the next few years, expanding to 30 properties across China.
“We see demand being driven not only by the inbound market, but also by domestic travellers in the country,” said Frasers Hospitality chief executive officer, Choe Peng Sum. “Room nights booked by Chinese travellers account for almost half of all our guests in China… (therefore) we will continue to grow our footprint in first and second-tier cities.”
A recent study commissioned by Frasers Hospitality found that innovation in products and experiences were important to 93% of Chinese millennial travellers, with more than half seeking out smart hotel services.
“While our entry into emerging cities such as Dalian and Tianjin are aimed at strengthening our network across China, we are also building on our presence in cities where we already have properties.
“For example, our two new openings in Shenzhen, Capri by Fraser, Shenzhen / China and Fraser Suites Shenzhen, each capture a different segment of the travel market,” said Choe.
Frasers Hospitality currently has properties 11 cities in China: Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wuhan and Wuxi.
It has 14 properties in the pipeline which will see it enlarging its footprint in cities such as Chengdu, Nanjing, Shanghai and Wuhan, as well as opening in new cities such as Nanchang and Haikou.
Frasers Hospitality’s latest opening in Dalian will harness the port city’s economic opportunities as well as its growing tourism industry.
Dalian welcomed over a million overseas tourists in 2017, with this figure growing steadily at an average of 3.8% annually.
The 259-unit Fraser Suites Dalian is in the new Donggang business district. It is part of the mixed-use Europark Tower development, which comprises a 100,000 sqm lifestyle shopping mall, designer offices and luxury residential apartments.
