By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
The Lotte Hotel group will open a new hotel in Russia in April of 2009.
``We will open a new chain in Moscow,'' Chang Kyung-chak, president and CEO of the Lotte Hotel chain, said Tuesday during a news conference at Lotte Hotel Seoul in downtown Seoul. ``It will be 10-story building with 319 rooms, targeting high-profiled guests and ambassadors.''
He plans to appoint a foreigner as a general manager and a Korean as a vice-general manager for the new hotel.
The one of the largest local hotel group currently has five chain hotels in Seoul, Busan, Ulsan and Jeju Island.
Chang said he plans to complete renovation on the five chains by 2010, investing a total of 150 billion won.
But the number of chains will further increase up to 10 as Chang also plans to set up three more chains in Mapo of Seoul, Gimhae in South Gyeongsang Province and near the Gimpo International Airport in Gyeonggi Province.
The expansion of the five-star hotel chain also involves the construction of budget or business hotels to attract tourists from China and other Southeast Asian countries.
The luxury hotel chain's new plan is largely attributed to the changes in the tourism market in the nation.
Previously, most luxurious hotels targeted Japanese tourists but the numbers have seen a decrease. But there have been an increase in the number of tourists from China and Southeast Asian countries, most of whom cannot afford high room rates, though.
``Our hotel has hugely relied on Japanese tourists. The decrease (in the number of them) has directly an impact on us,'' Chang said.
He also emphasized that new marketing strategies are necessary to prepare for recession in the business due to the drop in the number of foreign tourists.
``About 90 percent of the local hotel business depends on foreign tourists. There will be fewer international events scheduled this year and for the next four years, the recession will continue,'' he said.