Marriott signed a deal for 11 new hotels across five mixed-use projects

Marriott International signed an agreement with Misr Italia Properties and People & Places Developments to develop 11 hotels and resorts with more than 1.8k rooms and suites across five mixed-use projects in Egypt’s coastal and urban destinations, according to a cabinet statement. Misr Italia, which says its total portfolio investments exceed EGP 56.7 bn, expects the expansion to create around 6k direct and indirect jobs and draw some 373k tourists a year.

IN CONTEXT– The agreement lands amid a wave of international operators expanding operations in Egypt as the state targets 30 mn tourists a year and 500k hotel rooms by 2030. Marriott signed on last year to bring its Autograph Collection brand to the redevelopment of Tahrir Square’s Mogamma into a 500-key hotel. This month, Hilton entered a partnership to put a Hilton Garden Inn in Ras El Bar, part of a pipeline to triple its Egypt presence with 25 new hotels, while Thai group Minor Hotels signed on to open its Anantara brand’s first Egyptian property, a resort at Somabay — separate from a JV with Sunrise Resorts & Cruises that targets up to 50 hotels nationwide over the next decade.