NAIROBI, THE CAPITAL CITY. PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- Hyatt Hotels Tuesday announced plans to open six new hotels in Africa over the next three years.
- Group vice-president for acquisitions and development Peter Penev said at a media briefing in Nairobi that Hyatt was not keen on investing locally in the short term.
- Hyatt made Nairobi its Sub-Saharan Africa hub in 2013, when it officially announced plans to explore investment opportunities on the continent.
Global hospitality chain Hyatt Hotels Corporation has snubbed
Kenya in its Africa expansion plan despite making Nairobi its
sub-Saharan Africa hub four years ago.
Hyatt Hotels Tuesday announced plans to open six new hotels in Africa over the next three years.
Group
vice-president for acquisitions and development Peter Penev said at a
media briefing in Nairobi that Hyatt was not keen on investing locally
in the short term.
Hyatt made Nairobi its Sub-Saharan
Africa hub in 2013, when it officially announced plans to explore
investment opportunities on the continent.
The luxury
hotel brand is set to venture into four new markets in Africa; Ethiopia,
Cameroon, Algeria and Dakar, between 2018 and 2020. It also plans to
open facilities in Tanzania and Morocco where the firm already has two
hotels in each country.
The hotels in the pipeline will have a bed capacity of more than 1,100 rooms.
Hyatt
Hotels, which has facilities in South Africa and Egypt too, has 13
brands under its label including Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place
and Miraval.
“Nine out of the 20 fastest growing
economies in the world are in Africa and evidently there are
opportunities for growth on the continent.
‘‘When
launching new projects we do not do it independently, we have partners
we work with to identity where our brands have a viable opportunity. We
have been looking into the Kenyan market but we have nothing conclusive
at the moment,” said Mr Penev.
The firm stated that
part of its long-term plan is to venture into Cote d’Ivore, Mozambique,
Uganda and Rwanda in the wake of growing African tourism.
East
Africa is part of Hyatt’s primary focus area owing to it’s
infrastructure development, bourgeoning middle-class and stability.
“With
the introduction of a Pan-African, visa-free passport next year
alongside the continued improvement in the connectivity and growth of
the region’s airlines, we expect tourist and business travel will only
continue to increase.
‘‘We look forward to working
with our local developers and partners to further deliver on our
ambitious plan to help grow the hotel industry in East Africa.”
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