US group Best Western International, which has already announced plans to expand elsewhere in Asia, is also focussed on Thailand and plans to manage 25 hotels in the country by 2015.

Best Western already operates 14 hotels in Thailand and already has another five in the pipeline, with plans to open in Bangkok and Phuket.

Best Western's vice president for international operations in Asia, Glenn de Souza, said the company was looking to close deals in Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Phangnga.

Competition is fierce in the Thai hotel industry, but de Souza said he still believed Best Western could operate profitability even in the capital Bangkok, and on roads crowded with hotels such as Sukhumvit.

Best Western hotels in China have an average of 300 rooms. The average daily rate for rooms has jumped by 20 percent in the past year, and the number of Asian tourists in Best Western's Thai hotels increased by nearly 60 percent.