Marriott aims to attract $2 bln investments in Saudi Arabia

Marriott International plans to attract $2 billion investment in Saudi Arabia over the next four years by almost doubling the number of hotel rooms it operates in the country, Reuters reported, citing Marriott’s president and managing director for Middle East and Africa Alex Kyriakidis.

According to Kyriakidis, Marriott plans to expand the number of rooms at its hotels to nearly 12,500 in the next four years from the current 6,800.

The construction, currently ongoing, of almost 6,000 new rooms would cost $2 billion, Kyriakidis said.

Once the work is completed, Marriott will operate 52 hotels, up from 23 at present.

The company operates the Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Le Meridien and Sheraton brands in Saudi Arabia.

Kyriakidis said Ritz Carlton’s temporary closure – when detainees under the anti-corruption crackdown were housed there – did not hurt the group’s operations in the Kingdom.

He said that domestic tourism still accounted for most visitors to the company’s properties.

Saudi Arabia aims to boost domestic and international tourism in its drive to diversify the economy away from oil exports. It is has set a target of $46.6 billion in spending by local and foreign tourists in 2020, up from $27.9 billion in 2015, the report said.