Concerns regarding corporate operations in regions associated with severe human rights violations have come to the fore, particularly focusing on the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which owns Holiday Inn. Senior parliamentarians, led by former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, have called on IHG to reevaluate its presence in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). This region has faced serious allegations of genocide against its Uyghur Muslim population, with accusations of mass surveillance, forced labour, and a systematic assault on religious freedoms.
Recent findings by the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) reveal that IHG currently operates four hotels in Xinjiang, with plans to open at least 16 more in the near future. This expansion has provoked significant backlash, leading to a joint letter from MPs of various political affiliations urging the company to reconsider its operations in a context that has been described as impossible for ethical business practices. They assert that continuing such operations may inadvertently endorse the human rights abuses the UK government has condemned.
The mention of other international hotel chains, including Marriott and Hilton, also operating in Xinjiang underscores the wider complicity of the hospitality industry in the region's troubling dynamics. IHG’s hotels specifically are established in areas governed by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, which is under sanctions imposed by numerous governments for human rights violations. This raises critical questions about the ethical implications of profiting from tourism in an area where significant state repression is reportedly ongoing.
A troubling aspect is that IHG has been found marketing its hotels in this region as destinations for travellers, starkly juxtaposed against the backdrop of reported atrocities. The UHRP's report highlights a dissonance between the luxury services offered and the reality faced by the Uyghur community—where simple existence has become a struggle under state scrutiny. Luke De Pulford, Executive Director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, condemned this business strategy, implying that facilitating tourism here amounts to neglecting the grim realities of the local population.
Adding to the discourse, a UN report from September 2022 characterised the situation in Xinjiang as potentially constituting crimes against humanity. This has heightened scrutiny surrounding multinational firms, which are now urged to conduct rigorous human rights due diligence to avoid complicity in ongoing abuses. Similar sentiments echo across advocacy groups urging Western tourism companies to stop organising trips to the region, fearing that such actions could normalise harmful Chinese government policies targeting Uyghur identity.
In a broader context, the rising tourist numbers in Xinjiang, where state media reported approximately 300 million visitors in 2024, including five million from abroad, illustrate ongoing efforts by the Chinese government to portray a sanitised version of the region. International hotel chains, by establishing and promoting their facilities here, inadvertently participate in creating a façade that may support Beijing's propaganda, as noted by Dr. Henryk Szadziewski, a co-author of the UHRP report.
The landscape of international response is fraught with challenges, and the potential for corporations to contribute to state-led human rights violations cannot be ignored. With calls for boycotts and a growing movement advocating for corporate responsibility, the imperative for companies like IHG becomes increasingly clear: ethical considerations should take precedence over profit in these controversial regions.
As IHG and similar entities navigate this complex terrain, they stand at a crossroads that could significantly impact public perception and their overall reputation on a global stage.
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Source: Noah Wire Services