PANAJI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - UK's InterContinental Hotels

Group ( IHG ) expects India to become one of its top-five global

markets within years, a senior executive said on Friday, as

international hospitality brands accelerate expansion across the

world's most populous country.

"It (India) is like a game-changer. It's an infinite market

in a sense," Sudeep Jain, managing director for South West Asia

at IHG, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Hospitality

Overview Presentation & Exchange conference in Goa.

IHG, whose brands include Holiday Inn and Avid Hotels,

currently operates around 50 hotels in India with roughly 80 in

development.

The British group said in January it aimed to grow its

combined open and pipeline portfolio within the country to more

than 400 properties within five years. Globally, IHG operates

over 6,900 hotels, with about two-thirds in the Americas.

India's hospitality sector is forecast to nearly double to

$55.7 billion by 2031 from $23.5 billion in 2025, according to

consultancy Mordor Intelligence, driven by population growth,

rapid urbanisation and rising travel demand from both affluent

and budget consumers.

IHG is not alone in its ambitions.

Hyatt Hotels ( H ) Chief Executive Mark Hoplamazian said the

chain expects to quintuple its India footprint over five years.

Hilton Worldwide ( HLT ) has separately announced plans to

quadruple its pipeline of hotel rooms in the country.

Executives from Accor and Wyndham Hotels

also flagged India as a priority market at the Goa conference.

Jain ruled out an Indian stock market listing for IHG's

local operations, at least in the near term, even as local

subsidiaries of South Korea's LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor ( HYMLF )

have recently completed Indian initial public offerings.