Hotel chains urged not to help China 'sanitise' rights abuses

Almost 200 international hotels are operating or planning to open in Xinjiang despite calls from human rights groups for global corporations not to help "sanitise" the Chinese government's human rights abuses in the region, a report has said.

- Helen Davidson

The report by the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) identified 115 operational hotels that the organisation said "benefit from a presence in the Uyghur region". At least another 74 were in various stages of construction or planning, the report said. The UHRP said some of the hotels also had exposure or links of concern to forced labour and labour transfer programmes.

The explosion in hotel numbers coincides with the Chinese government's efforts to push Xinjiang as a tourism destination after years of criticism and sanctions over its crackdown on the local Muslim population. In 2024 Xinjiang recorded about 300 million visitors, according to state media, including almost 5 million foreign tourists - 50% more than in 2023.