Dubai: Marriott International’s pipeline of new hotels in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) stands at more than 65 hotels and 14,300 rooms, the hotel company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The company said it has nearly doubled its presence in the MEA, with over 160 hotels and 23,000 rooms as it completed its $200-million acquisition of the Protea Hospitality Group (PHG), based in South Africa.
“With the addition of Protea’s regional knowledge, expertise and infrastructure, we are incredibly well-positioned to continue growing in one of the fastest expanding economic markets in the world,” stated Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director of Marriott International in the MEA.
Marriott now manages, franchises and leases hotels across the Protea Hotels brand. Its portfolio includes 10,148 rooms in seven African countries, including South Africa.
It said that it has become the largest hotel company in Africa.
Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow by more than five per cent until 2015, according to the statement, sourcing World Bank data.
Last year, Marriott said that it aims to increase the number of hotel rooms in Dubai to 10,000 by 2020. The emirate already has 2,700 Marriott hotel rooms. By 2020, the emirate and the country are expected to account for around 14 per cent of the company’s regional hotel rooms.
Marriott operates and franchises over 4,000 hotels in 79 countries.
