Hotel giant InterContinental has announced plans for a new upscale brand in China.

The company said this week that the project is currently in its early developmental stages. The new brand will be specifically geared for upscale Chinese travellers as part of a move to capitalise on the growing travel industry in China.

The news comes 27 years after InterContinental Hotels Group introduced its first property in the Asian nation. Now IHG is the biggest and fastest growing hotel firm in China with 150 properties already in business and an additional 150 set to open within the next half-decade.

IHG Chairman of the Board David Webster said at an executive meeting in Shanghai this week that the new brand would be one that Chinese travellers could ‘grow up with’. He said that they would be able to gain the same trust that foreigners have grown for the brand in regions around the world. Mr Webster also noted that IHG would continue with expansion plans for its existing brands in China including Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza and InterContinental.

The ambitious plan, which comes as part of the hotel firm’s global expansion strategy, will see the company hire about 90,000 individuals over the next 36 months for construction, design and development.