RITZ-CARLTON Hotel Co yesterday opened its second hotel in Shanghai in Pudong New Area, more than 12 years after it launched the Portman Ritz-Carlton in downtown Puxi, and the luxury hotelier plans to expand on China's mainland to tap the boom in the regional tourism market.

"We will build our hotels where our customers go and as the global leisure market is recovering gradually, it's much faster in China," said Bob Kharazmi, senior vice president of Ritz-Carlton International.

He is confident that "the momentum will continue for a long time and the strong boost of regional travel can absorb the growth of the supply side. Asia and especially China has always been a very important market for us and China will continue to play an important role in our strategic growth in the next three to five years."

"We are planning to locate our hotels at the hottest destinations in China as we see strong demand from regional customers," Kharazmi added.

The 285-room Ritz-Carlton Shanghai Pudong occupies the top 18 floors of the south tower of Shanghai International Finance Center which is owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties. Next it will unveil the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong at the International Commerce Centre in Kowloon, which is also owned by the same developer, at the end of this year or early next year.

"We may see the largest growth of our business coming from the China market," said Mark DeCocinis, regional vice president for Ritz-Carlton Asia.

Revenue from China now accounts for 30 to 35 percent of Asia Pacific's total, DeCocinis noted.

Kharazmi also revealed that the Ritz-Carlton "Reserve," a newly launched more private luxury hotel brand, is expected to be introduced in China to serve domestic customers.