Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Jan 15: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which currently operates 50 hotels in India, has announced an aggressive expansion plan, setting a medium-term target of 400 hotels either operational or under development within the next five years. The global hospitality major also has a long-term ambition of scaling up to 1,000 properties across the country.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, IHG CEO Elie Maalouf underlined the vast untapped potential of the Indian hospitality market, drawing a striking comparison. “India today has fewer internationally branded hotel rooms than Manhattan,” he said, highlighting the supply gap in quality accommodation despite rapidly rising travel demand.
“We’ve been in India for 50 years, but the last decade has changed everything,” Maalouf noted. He attributed the shift to accelerated infrastructure investments in roads, railways and airports, stronger GDP growth of 6–8%, improved ease of doing business due to deregulation, and a sharp rise in air travel. “Travel demand is accelerating, but hotel supply hasn’t kept pace,” he added.
IHG currently has 80 hotels under development in India, taking its total open and pipeline portfolio to 130 properties. According to Maalouf, this strong pipeline gives the company confidence of reaching its 400-hotel target within five years, describing it as “just the beginning” of IHG’s India growth story.
Maalouf said India has the potential to emerge as one of IHG’s top three global markets in the long run. “With a population of 1.5 billion and a middle class expected to grow by another 400 million over the next 15 years, India offers massive opportunities across business, leisure, religious tourism and weddings,” he said.
Drawing parallels with China, where IHG is on track to reach 1,000 hotels by early 2027, Maalouf pointed out that China’s population is less than a quarter of India’s. “Given India’s young demographics and infrastructure push, there’s no reason it can’t reach 1,000 hotels over time,” he added.
Rapid urbanisation, expanding airports, record aircraft orders and improved road and rail connectivity have made travel more accessible across India, fuelling both domestic and international tourism. This, coupled with strong economic growth, has boosted demand for globally branded hotels.
IHG is also ramping up its workforce in line with expansion plans. Its Gurugram centre of excellence has grown from 700 to 900 employees in under a year. Maalouf noted that each new hotel generates between 100 and 300 jobs, underlining the sector’s role in employment creation.
With three consecutive record years of hotel signings in India, IHG’s bullish outlook reflects growing global confidence in the Indian hospitality sector. “India isn’t competing with our other markets; it’s complementing them. We can grow in North America, Europe, China and India simultaneously,” Maalouf said, reinforcing India’s strategic importance for the group.