In a sign of growing optimism in the fast-developing economy of Ethiopia, French multinational AccorHotels will open three new hotels in the capital, Addis Ababa (pictured), in partnership with Ethiopian investors.
Scheduled to open between 2019 and 2021, the two Ibis-branded hotels and one Mercure will between them add 527 rooms to the city, which is still celebrating its new railway to the Indian Ocean via Djibouti.
The group’s Middle East and Africa chief executive Steven Daines said the new hotels would "help build a leadership for AccorHotels across segments on this promising and fast growing market", reported NewBusinessEthiopia.com.
Plans are for a 162-key Mercure located near the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, to be built by Tihnat Investments PLC with an expected opening in 2020; a 135-key Ibis Styles in partnership with Metro Hospitality Services PLC, also near the UN headquarters, completed by 2019; and a 22-floor, 230-key Ibis managed by AccorHotels on behalf of Abay Technic Trading, located near the African Union headquarters, opening in 2021.
AccorHotels already operates 111 hotels in 21 African countries. In Ethiopia it opened a 330-room Pullman in 2014 and a 156-key Novotel in 2015.
Image: Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia (Derejeb/Dreamstime)
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