France's Accor plans to boost hotel network to 5,000

PARIS: Accor said Tuesday it plans to expand its network of worldwide hotels by 2010, giving the French group a base of 5,000 hotels.

The current network of around 4,000 hotels will be shaken up with divestments, rebrandings and refurbishing, the company said.

"We plan on increasing our market share in the European midscale segment," helped by recently launched Adagio City Aparthotels, a joint venture with Groupe Pierre & Vacances, Accor Chief Executive Gilles Pelisson told journalists after presenting Accor's business plan to analysts over a two-day meeting in Roissy, near Paris.

Chinese tourists flock to Paris under travel pact

PARIS -- France is reaping a fat reward by tapping into the potentially massive Chinese tourism market under a special access provision extended to the European Union but not Canada.

Every day, thousands of Chinese tourists, who typically stay in two-star hotels in Paris's suburbs, come by the busloads into the heart of the world's most popular tourist destination to shop and take pictures of each other in front of landmarks like the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.

CHRISTMAS IN PARIS

CHRISTMAS IN PARIS Celebrate the holidays in style. The Hotel le Bristol Paris is offering special meals and celebrations Dec. 21 through Jan. 2. Guests can choose from several packages, including a Christmas Eve dinner or lunch on Christmas, ringing in New Year's with a romantic night of dinner and dancing, dinner and performances or a deejay dance party. All New Year's festivities are followed by a fireworks display. The hotel has an indoor heated pool, wine cellar, two restaurants and huge gardens. Prices vary. Rooms start at around $936 a night. www.lebristolparis.com.

Travel Diary: Loving the Loire Valley

A quick test and I am happy to discover that I am indeed still quite adept at riding a bicycle that is not stationary. In fact, I am an old pro on this mode of transport – a veritable Lance Armstrong, if you will (alright I’m not in competition shape, but I can sit on a bike just as well as any Tour de France champion). In any case, I take to the biking trails (Loire à Vélo) along the Loire with fervor. I soon discover that this is a fab way of experiencing the majesty of the Loire as well as taking in a bit of the green beyond green French countryside. Running some 400 kilometers, the Loire à Vélo (www.loireavelo.fr) is part of a network of trails designed by the EU that will eventually run from the Atlantic Ocean in France to Budapest. For cycling enthusiasts, this is an itinerary must-do.