Marriott Group to expand presence in Middle East

Marriott International will pursue its global expansion strategy with a special focus on the Middle East and Africa region, said Vladimir Dabbah, vice president global sales, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International. Dabbah, as quoted in Kuwait Times, provided an overview of the group’s expansion plan and outlined the group’s customer-oriented strategy across its 18 renowned global brands. “As a business group, we continue to look at opportunities to grow our existence. We have 42 hotels in the MENA region alone. And another 45 hotels will become operational over the next few years. The new properties will add 10,875 rooms to the Marriott International ‘s portfolio,” said Dabbah. Elaborating further on expansion plans, Dabbah said: “In the next couple of years, we will be opening new hotels in Kuwait and Dubai including 143-unit Residence Inn by Marriott in Kuwait City. Currently, we operate 313-room JW Marriott Hotel and Courtyard by Marriott in Kuwait City in addition to one of our flagship properties in Kuwait, Marriott International. In Dubai, we plan to open two new hotels by the end of this year.” Source: Travel Daily