Ibis, the worldwide economy hotel brand of the Accor group, recently announced the opening of the 800th hotel in its portfolio, the ibis Shanghai Lianyang.

Located only 32 kilometers from the airport and just three kilometers from the city center, the 298 rooms ibis Shanghai Lianyang is close to such major tourist attractions such as Century Park, the Science and Technology Museum and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the world's third tallest TV and radio tower.

"This 800th hotel is a double milestone for ibis," said Helen Lalitte, senior vice president of global marketing for ibis. "It demonstrates our capacity to meet the ambitious objectives of our global development program. Also, it is launched in China, a key market for our brand in Asia."

Since its creation in 1974, the brand has grown consistently, first in Europe and gradually in all continents. In 2007, ibis dramatically accelerated its worldwide development, with an objective of 1,100 hotels and 150,000 bedrooms in more than 70 countries by 2010. Between 2008 and 2010, one to two new ibis hotels will be launched in the world every week.

(China Hospitality News December 17, 2008)