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Accor, one of the world's largest groups in travel, tourism and corporate services, announced Monday that it will continue to expand its China's mainland network by opening nine new hotels by the year 2004, including two economy hotels.

This is Accor's biggest expansion plan on the Chinese mainland since its entry into the hotel market there in 1985.

In the next two years, Accor will manage five new Sofitels and two Novotels there and will also revolutionize its economy hotel sector there with the introduction of its Ibis brand.

It will open Ibis Tianjin in October 2003 and Ibis Chengdu in the third quarter of 2004. Ibis Tianjin will be the first internationally managed economy hotel concept in mainland.

Michael Issenberg, managing director of Accor Asia Pacific, said that the expansion was well timed to take advantage of China's growing domestic travel market while putting Accor hotel brands prominently in the minds of China's potentially huge outbound traveling public.

"It is an exciting time for tourism and travel in China. While SARS had a devastation impact on China's travel sector, it doesn't diminish the fact that it offers the greatest potential for future growth, and that covers inbound and outbound travel and domestic leisure and business travel," he said.

Accor said its hotel and resort network posted gains across Asia in July, especially in China and China's Hong Kong, as the region quickly recovers from the impact of the SARS virus.