InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is extending its presence in India with the signing of 13 new hotels that will bring its existing pipeline in the country to 47.

IHG, which first entered India in 1962, currently has 13 hotels in 10 cities across India including Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai.

The group will expand in cities including tourism and business destinations such as Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Goa.

More than 85 per cent of the hotels the company will open in the next few years are focused on the mid-market. Currently, only 15 per cent of the 125,000 hotel rooms in India are in this segment.

Jan Smits, CEO for IHG in Asia, Middle East and Africa, said: "India is an extremely important market. We have our second largest pipeline in Asia Pacific here after China.

"With international tourism increasing year on year and the continued strength of domestic tourism, we see incredible opportunities for growth."

The company is also working with local educational institutions to expand its training in hospitality through its IHG Academy programme.

The academy works with local education providers to help people gain real experience of working in a hotel to improve their chances of finding jobs in the hotel sector.

There are currently nine academy programmes with IHG hotels in operation that have partnered with schools and universities in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Pune.

Jan Smits said that recruitment is one of our biggest challenges in India.

"We're bringing the experience in international hotel management the country needs as it becomes a prime tourist destination. But we need more local graduates with hotel and tourism management training for the jobs we're creating."