Marriott international Inc opened its Chinese flagship hotel JW Marriott in Shanghai yesterday, aiming to tap the booming business travel market.

Located in the 59-story Tomorrow Square at People's Square, the JW Marriott Hotel and service apartment, Marriott Executive Apartments, added 342 rooms and 255 apartments to the local hospitality market.

To date, Marriott International has grouped all its seven brands in Shanghai. The group will also begin operations of Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel soon. By the end of 2004, the group will manage another three hotels in Tianjin, Wuhan and Hainan.

"China's economy is fairly strong. That offers opportunity for the business-travel market and hotel operators," said Martyn Standen, general manager of JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai.

Companies in China are estimated to spend more than US$4.2 billion a year in business travel, and the figure is rising by 20 percent annually, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

Since travel cost can usually account for 10 to 14 percent of a multinational company's total expenditure, the market is lucrative, Standen said.

Meanwhile, the increasing number of international meetings or exhibitions will push up the demand for high-end hotels.

China is now home to some 400,000 foreign-funded companies, with an annual growth rate expected to top 18 percent.

Up to the end of July, Shanghai was the headquarters for 41 multinational companies, according to government statistics.

Several other international hotel management groups have strengthened their presence in China.

Last month, US-based Howard Johnson International opened its flagship Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel near Shanghai's People's Square. The company is accelerating its expansion in China, saying it would add 33 hotels by 2006.

To date, 17 international hotel groups have introduced 30 brands to the Shanghai market.

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