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nternational hotel management chain Accor, the largest hotel operator in Asia and the Pacific, will open 21 new hotels in Indonesia, one of its fastest growing markets in Asia, an executive says.

Michael Issenberg, the chairman and chief operating officer of Accor Asia Pacific, said Tuesday that the plan would help his company benefit from surging travel in the country.

“Indonesia’s economic growth will push up volumes of business travel and tourism. With our vast hotel networks in Indonesia, we will strengthen Accor brands and expand our business here,” he said when announcing the plan.

Issenberg said Accor was targeting domestic tourists traveling throughout the country.

“Certainly in Bali there are more overseas tourists. But, like everywhere else in the world, our hotels in Indonesia will depend on between 80 and 90 percent domestic tourists,” he said.

He said the new hotels would be managed under various brands, including Pullman, Novotel, ibis, all seasons and Formule 1.

They will be located in Greater Jakarta and other major cities: Pekanbaru, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Banjarmasin, Palu and Makassar.

According to Issenberg, out of the 21 hotels, nine will be economy hotels under the ibis and all seasons brands, while four hotels will be budget hotels under the Formule 1 brand.

“First travel experience is more budget- and economy-oriented. These segments will have the biggest growth in the next five to ten years in Indonesia,” he said, adding that such a condition would be enabled by the improving situation of the Indonesian people as a result of economic growth.

Accor Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore vice president Gerard Guillouet said Accor was expanding to cities outside Java and Bali because business activities were spreading to those areas.

“Thanks to local autonomy, investments flow to other places outside Jakarta and other cities in Java and Bali. Coupled with the development of budget airlines, this supports the development of the hotel market outside the region,” he said.

Accor first entered Indonesia in 1993 and currently operates 40 hotels in 18 cities nationwide, out of more than 4,000 hotels worldwide under brands such as Mercure, ibis and Novotel. On average, its occupancy rate is around  75 percent.

Earlier this year, Accor announced a plan to open 13 new hotels by 2013, including Mercure hotels in Padang, Jakarta, Bali and Banjarmasin, all seasons hotels in Pangkal Pinang, Jakarta and Yogyakarta, and ibis hotels in Surabaya, Bali, Balikpapan and Manado.