Accor has announced it is to add around 5,000 new rooms and open 30 hotels in Africa in the next four years.
The hotel group, which opened its first property in the Congo in 1975, made the announcement at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum, Nairobi and has already opened nine hotels in the continent in this year’s first quarter.
It has earmarked Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Angola and Kenya as key markets for development. Its most recent openings in Africa include an ibis in Dakar with another soon to open in Lagos. It is also due to take over the Hotel Ivoire in Abidjan, Ivory Coast under the Sofitel name.
“Our strong historic presence along with the economic growth experienced on the continent, offers many opportunities of expansion for all our brands with a special emphasis on ibis to meet growing domestic and regional demand,” said Jean-Jacques Dessors, chief operating officer MEA.
Its other openings in 2012 include an ibis in Equatorial Guinea; an ibis and Novotel in Algeria; an ibis and Novotel in Tunisia and two Sofitels in Morocco.