MARRIOTT International has announced the addition of six new properties to its Middle East/Africa pipeline of 37 previously-announced developments.
This includes the launch of the brand’s first Residence Inn by Marriott-branded property for extended-stay travellers in the Middle East, which opens in suburban Manama, Bahrain later this year.
When all 43 hotels now under development or construction open by 2016, Marriott International will offer 74 hotels and resorts and more than 17,600 rooms across seven lodging brands in the MEA region.
“Despite recent economic and political uncertainties in the Middle East and the northern tier of Africa, our development opportunities in the region remain strong,” said Ed Fuller, president and managing director for international lodging.
“These new hotels are expected to open over the next five years and will be perfectly positioned to help accommodate the nearly 90 million travellers that the World Travel & Tourism Council estimates will visit the region annually by 2016. Today, the Middle East welcomes approximately 68 million visitors each year.”
Fuller said Marriott continues to aggressively explore attractive expansion opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa and expects to announce projects later this year in destinations such as South Africa, Mauritius, Tanzania, Angola, Nigeria and Benin.
“We have plans to launch to 74 hotels in the region by 2015 and hope to ultimately grow that number to 100 hotels. The region has enormous tourism potential and we plan to play an important role in its development,” he said, adding that Marriott’s first two projects in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to open in Accra and Kigali next year.
The new properties in the pipeline include the 335-room Courtyard by Marriott Cairo Mirage City, the 495-room The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh scheduled to open in 2011 as the first Ritz-Carlton hotel in Saudi Arabia, a 78-unit Residence Inn by Marriott Juffair, Bahrain, which will be the first Residence Inn for extended-stay travellers in the Middle East, the 120-room Ritz-Carlton Rabat Hotel expected to open in 2013, the 247-room Courtyard by Marriott Algiers scheduled to open in 2014 and a 147-unit Residence Inn by Marriott Algiers also expected to open in 2014 as the third Residence Inn in the region after Jizan.
The company is also set to open its first JW Marriott Marquis Hotel in Dubai next year. The spectacular 1,614-room JW will offer a spectrum of business facilities for discerning travellers. Opening in 2012, the hotel will also house a state-of-the-art conference centre making it a ‘meetings and conference destination’. The JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai will encompass two iconic towers and will feature an array of 13 distinctive restaurants, bars and lounges, a luxurious Saray Spa, 4,015 sq m of conference and event space including two ballrooms and 22 breakout rooms, exclusive executive floors and six presidential suites.