MARRIOTT International is to expand its presence in the UAE to at least 12 hotels, according to an official.
The news comes on the heels of the group’s Global Sales Organization for the Middle East, Africa and Subcontinent having reported a 26 per cent growth in sales in the financial year 2005 over 2004.
“We are planning at least one Marriott five-star property in each emirate over the next two to three years,” Aboudi Asali, vice-president for international lodging development told Emirates Today. The expansion includes five five-star Marriott properties in Dubai and two in Abu Dhabi.
The Marriott Executive Apartments and the four-star Courtyard brand will also be expanded in the UAE.
Marriott is in advanced stages of discussions with Nakheel and Dubailand for opening a JW Marriott in The Palm Jumeirah and in Dubailand, the report said. “The Dubailand project will be the first Marriott international property we will bring to Dubai. We want to be a part of landmark developments in Dubai.”
The group announced two new properties in 2008 at RiverWalk in Dubai Internet City Free Zone. The hotels planned include the 300-room Courtyard by Marriott RiverWalk and a 120-unit luxury Marriott Executive Apartments RiverWalk.
Marriott International hotels scheduled to open in the Middle East and Africa in the next five years include the 171-unit Marriott Executive Apartments Cairo Nile Dolphin in Egypt, the group’s third property in Cairo and ninth in Egypt, the 245-room Aqaba Marriott Hotel & Resort and in 2007, the 274-room JW Marriott Algiers hotel. Two properties are set for Bahrain: the 323-room Renaissance hotel opening in 2007, and the 190-unit Bahrain Marriott Executive Apartments in 2008, while Doha will see three new hotels in 2006: the 250-room Renaissance Doha, the 200-room Courtyard Doha, the 138-unit Marriott Executive Apartments.