Since China's outbound tourism market started to show signs of a steady recovery last year, several domestic hotel chains have begun expanding their overseas operations to cash in on Chinese travelers' wanderlust.
They have already made strong inroads in Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian countries, the first nations to embrace the increasing arrivals of Chinese travelers.
"From a global perspective, when Chinese domestic hotels reach a certain level of development, going global becomes an inevitable trend," Zeng Bowie, a senior official from the China Leisure Association noted.