InterContinental Hotels will be introducing its brand to Qingdao in 2008.

InterContinental Qingdao, a 438-room new- build waterfront hotel, will be part of the 45-hectare integrated Olympic Water Sports Centre at Fushan Bay, which will host the sailing events of the 2008 Olympics.

The complex will feature an international conference centre and cruise terminal, marina and yachting club and extensive shopping, entertainment and recreation facilities.

InterContinental Hotels Group will manage the hotel on behalf of Qingdao Dong'Ao Development & Construction Group, developer of the Olympic Water Sports Centre.

InterContinental Qingdao will be the only hotel in the centre and will open in 2008, before the Olympic Games. Complementing the nearby international conference centre, the hotel's state-of-the-art meeting facilities will be able to accommodate up 2,000 guests.

Edmond Ip, InterContinental Hotels Group's chief operating officer for North Asia, said. "Qingdao will play host to the 2008 Olympics sailing events and we couldn't have asked for a better time and place to introduce InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, our flagship luxury brand, to this beautiful city, which has traditionally attracted scores of leisure and business travellers. This is truly an Olympic win for InterContinental Hotels Group and we are indeed privileged to be working with Qingdao Dong'Ao, one of China's top property developers and a driving force behind some of the most significant 2008 Olympic construction projects."