Accor plans 60 new hotels in Africa, including three in SA
Key markets in Accor’s growth plan include SA, Nigeria and Ethiopia, where it will open three, 10 seven hotels respectively by 2020
Nairobi — Accor SA will open 60 new hotels in 14 countries in Africa in the next four years, its CEO for Middle East and Africa Mark Willis said. During the next two years, the European hotel operator will open more than half of them in Egypt, which Willis said is rebounding after “external factors” hurt the industry. In 2015, an Islamic State affiliate blew up a Russian aircraft as it left the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in an attack that killed 224 people. “Egypt is resurrecting after 10 years of a tough situation,” Willis said in an interview in Nairobi, Kenya. Egypt has overtaken Kenya’s coastal region as the preferred destination for European tourists and investors, he said, and revenue per available Accor room there has risen 20% year on year. Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa “is not at the forefront of people’s minds today”, he said. Only one of the target hotels will be in the East African nation known for safaris and beach tourism. The continent has sustained unpreced...
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