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ACCOR SA would sharply increase the number of its hotels in China over two to three years, building the lower-tier Ibis brand to serve a wealthier population’s growing travel bug, executives said.

The French company’s plans to operate about 50 Ibis hotels in China, up from one now, would make it one of the first global hoteliers to tap the country’s lower-end mass-travel market.

Accor’s China strategy so far, of focusing on premium brands, mimics that of its biggest rivals, Marriott International, Hilton Group and Starwood Hotels, operator of Sheraton and Westin hotels.

Accor, Europe’s top hotel operator, whose brands ranged from Novotel to Motel 6, planned to more than double its premium Sofitels to 19 from nine now over the next two years, said Richard Kaldor, Accor’s China vice president.

High-end brands often cater to foreigners and Chinese working for multinationals, leaving the mass market for business and leisure travel largely untapped.

China’s travelers spent 388 billion yuan (US$47 billion) in 2002. The market had grown at 7 to 8 percent yearly between 1998 and 2000, according to official data.

Accor now ran a single Ibis in the northern port city of Tianjin, with projects in the works in the major cities of Chengdu, Qingdao, Chongqing, Wuxi and Zhongshan, Kaldor said.