InterContinental Hotels Group signed a management agreement with BIM Group to develop the first Holiday Inn hotel in Vientiane, Laos. This will be IHG’s third project with BIM Group.
Set to open in 2019, the 250-room Holiday Inn & Suites Vientiane, which includes 50 long-stay suites, will be part of a mixed-use development with the existing Crowne Plaza Vientiane, office towers and a retail mall. Within the city center, the new-build hotel will be near the airport, embassies, government offices, banks, corporate offices in the city and tourist attractions, such as the Lao National Museum, night market and Mekong River.
Laos is one of the fastest-growing nations in South East Asia, with up to eight percent GDP growth over the past few years. In addition to infrastructural and industrial developments underway that are set to boost economic growth and attract foreign investment, there is also a strong upward trend in its tourism sector. Last year, Laos received 4.23 million visitors—a 10-percent growth over the last five years. Also, visitor arrivals are expected to double to 8.2 million by 2025.
“The country’s growing prominence as a business and tourism destination is in line with our strategic expansion plans in Laos, which include Crowne Plaza Vientiane, the first internationally branded upscale hotel in Vientiane, and the upcoming Holiday Inn & Suites Vientiane,” Rajit Sukumaran, CDO, Asia Middle East Africa, IHG, said in a statement.
Developer BIM Group owns two other IHG hotels–Crowne Plaza Vientiane, which opened earlier this year, and InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort & Residences in Vietnam.