Upmarket Club Med intends to open second resort in China

Upmarket French leisure group Club Med said it intends to open a second holiday village in China, in the southern province of Guilin to add to its northern ski resort.

Club Med said it had signed a 10-year accord with Chinese group China Pao Shan, owner of the site, with the resort to open next year and then be revamped and more than doubled in capacity to 300 rooms for 2013.

Guilin, famed for its scenery, is one of China’s top tourist destinations, attracting 20 million domestic and 1.4 million foreign visitors in 2010, Club Med said.

Chinese investment company Fosun last year bought a seven per cent stake in Club Med, forming a strategic tie-up which aims to make the China market the second largest for the group by 2015, with five resorts operational.

“We continue to focus (on China). Our Yabuli ski resort welcomed 8,000 visitors in its first season last year and that is in line with forecasts,” Club Med chief executive officer Henri Giscard d’Estaing said.

In Asian, Club Med has been present for more than 20 years, with operations in Japan, Thailand, the Maldives and Indonesia.