Middle East, Asia And Africa Spearhead IHG’s Q3 Growth

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has reported a 3.3 per cent growth in global RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room) in the third quarter – which was led by a strong performance in its Asia, Middle East and Africa region, up by 5.4 per cent.

Revenues in Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been “strong” and Southeast Asia recorded a 10.1 per cent increase in the third quarter driven by continued strength in Indonesia and Thailand.

Hotel signings in the quarter included Holiday Inn Makkah, which will be the largest Holiday Inn hotel in the world with more than 1,200 rooms. IHG is expected to provide jobs for approximately 20,000 people across its AMEA estate over the next few years.

The hospitality giant opened 8,000 rooms in the quarter taking the system size to 679,000 rooms, up one per cent year on year. In addition, 16,000 rooms signed in the third quarter, up 18 per cent year-on-year, taking the pipeline to 180,000 rooms at the quarter end.

An 11.7 per cent RevPAR growth in Japan reflected increased international business, particularly in Tokyo and Okinawa.

Richard Solomons, IHG’s global chief executive, said: “Despite the ongoing challenges in some of our markets, current trading trends give us confidence for the rest of the year and our strategy for high quality growth positions us well for continuing success into the future.”