With increased development on the luxury front in Asia Pacific and the region now leading the way in high end consumption, Accor has moved its Global Luxury and Upscale marketing operations from Paris to Singapore.

The move, announced quietly last year, heralded the introduction of several high-end hotels to its portfolio in the region namely Sofitel So Singapore, Pullman Shanghai South, and the signing of the highly-coveted Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour at the Sydney International Convention Centre.

With Asian consumers now accounting for almost half of global luxury sales,

Accor decided that a move to Singapore would bring new insights into luxury and upscale hotels and place the nerve centre of its marketing operations closer to where its customer base is growing fastest.

“Over the past decade Asia Pacific’s economic development has been remarkable and as travelers become more affluent, their desire to travel and explore the world grows, making this region the fastest growing luxury market in the world,” says Michael Issenberg, Chairman and CEO Accor Asia Pacific.

“We currently have more than 170 luxury/uspscale hotels with over 37,000 rooms in the region, plus over 70 luxury and upscale hotels under development. This means that Accor will open, on average, a new luxury and upscale hotel in Asia Pacific every month for the next five years.

“With Sofitel celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Accor has a long history in luxury and upscale hotels and our credentials in this segment continue to grow with our expanding pipeline in this sector, including more than 30 Pullman hotels in China alone,” he said.

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