INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS Group's (IHG) finance director Richard Solomons said there has been a continuing rise in the number of business travellers staying at the group's hotels.
He said: "There has been steady improvement from month to month. I do not want to say it too loudly because we cannot take anything for granted. "Companies are still working on budgets set in the bad times, but the business is coming back."
IHG's finance chief said demand in Asia had been particularly strong: "That place is just amazing. Where there is tarmac hotels will follow and the number of roads and other infrastructure being built in China is just phenomenal."