The French hotel chain Accor, which entered the Latvian market on May 1^st with the opening of their first hotel Mercure Riga Center Hotel, is planning to open three hotels in Riga, as reported by the franchisor of the Accor brand in the Baltics, the head of the Warsaw-based Orbis Hotel Group – Laurent Picheral.

Mercure Riga Center Hotel is a four-star hotel on Elizabetes street, the second – five-star Pullman Riga Center – will be located on Jēkaba street. There are also plans to open an economy class Ibis hotel.

Explaining the choice of Accor in favour of the Baltic countries, Picheral noted the favourable geographical location at the intersection of several markets – Scandinavian, European, Russian, as well as the dynamic development of the Baltic countries.

In total, Accor is planning to open 15 hotels across the Baltic States over two or three years, mostly focusing on the business people. The hotel network includes about 3600 hotels all around the world.

“We have signed a franchise agreement with the international hotel chain Accor,” said Alexey Abasov (Oleksii Abasov), the CEO of Wisher Enterprise. “We analysed the favourable background for investment for a long time and came to the conclusion that the tourist flow in Latvia is a reason enough for entering this market. There are not many international brands in Riga, which is surprising for the capital and one of the largest cities in the Baltic States. I am sure we will be able to compete with the hotel brands already operating in Latvia.”