Invest KOREA

Jinjiang International Hotel Management Co., the largest hotel chain in China, has announced plans to open a hotel in Seoul in a year.

It is the group’s goal to open hotels in cities where many Chinese tourists visit in three years. Seoul and Jeju are included in Jinjiang’s target cities in Asia, said James Kim, Vice President of Operations at Jinjiang International Hotel Management Co.

Kim noted that investment will be made in a type of trust management, as direct investment is difficult because Jinjiang is a state-owned company. The company is conducting market research with an agent and preparing for expansion to Korea. Jinjiang plans to open a five-star hotel in Seoul in a year or two, said Kim.

Kim also mentioned that most Chinese tourists are on low-cost tours, but he expects the number of business travelers to also increase when exchanges between the two countries grow. Jinjiang will be the best hotel to accommodate Chinese visitors, although it might have to compete with global brands in Seoul, said Kim.

He said that once the hotel, which will be 631 meters tall and the highest in Shanghai, opens in 2015, it will enhance the brand image of Jinjiang Hotel and bring more business opportunities to Korea and abroad.

Jinjiang International Hotel is the largest state-owned hotel chain in China, and Shanghai City is its largest stakeholder. It has 1,460 hotels in 230 cities. With 35,080 rooms, it ranked ninth globally in terms of number of rooms.

Jinjiang welcomed a German CEO as well as Vice President Kim, a hotel management expert, a few years ago to begin globalization.


Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (Oct. 15, 2013)

** This article was translated from the Korean.