Further, Radisson has 14 new hotel openings slated across various countries in the Middle East and Africa this year. In Africa, the group had eight hotel signings in 2023, adding more than 1 600 rooms to its portfolio. With this progress, the group believes it is well on its way to achieving its objective of having 150 hotels in Africa in the next five years, up from its current count of 100 hotels. These hotel signings included new market entries into Gambia with Radisson Blu Beach Resort and Spa, Banjul and Radisson Hotel Benin in Nigeria. In addition to the Radisson hotel in Benin, the signing of Radisson Collection Hotel and Conference Centre, Abuja; Radisson Blu Hotel, Abuja CBD and Radisson RED Lagos VI further strengthened the group’s position in Nigeria, with its portfolio now expanding to 12 hotels and more than 1 700 rooms.
“We have an exciting year ahead with five hotel openings in Africa . . . in our key countries such as Egypt, Morocco and South Africa . . . Building on the momentum of the Radisson Collection Resort, Marsa Alam Port Phoenice signing, introducing the Radisson Collection brand in the country . . . we will also open the first standalone serviced apartments in Egypt with Radisson Residences Cairo Heliopolis within the coming months,” Radisson business development for Africa and Turkey VP Ramsay Rankoussi says.
In Morocco, Radisson will further expand its portfolio with the upcoming opening of Radisson Hotel Casablanca Gauthier, the debut of the Radisson brand in Morocco, scheduled for the second quarter. In South Africa, Radisson is set to add its twelfth hotel with the opening of Radisson Hotel Middelburg later this year, following the opening of its first safari hotel in Africa with the recently announced Radisson Safari Hotel Hoedspruit.
“In addition to these key markets, we are proactively pursuing East Africa this year, with Kenya and Tanzania identified as market priorities. As resorts continue to play an important role in our global strategic growth plan, we will build on our successful resort expansion in Africa, which has included the recent openings of Radisson Blu Resort Mosi-oa-Tunya in Livingstone and our debut in Reunion Island with the opening of Radisson Hotel Saint Denis,” Rankoussi adds.
Over the past three years, Radisson has become the fastest-growing hotel group in Africa, with 20 hotel openings across the continent. This has translated into a 15% yearly growth rate on its African portfolio. In the Middle East, the group opened more than 1 000 keys in the past 12 months and is on track to open 2 000 more keys this year. Radisson is targeting 150 properties to be operational or under development across the Middle East by 2030. In the last quarter of 2023, the group revealed new hotels across Oman. These included the Muscat Levatio Suites, a member of Radisson Individuals and Radisson Hotel Muscat Panorama, as well as opening the first Radisson Individuals in Saudi Arabia, with the opening of Vivid Jeddah, a Radisson Individuals hotel. In addition to these openings, the group has also signed agreements for Park Inn by Radisson Resort Bimmah and Radisson Serviced Apartments Salalah.
In Jordan, Radisson Blu Hotel, Amman Galleria Mall opened its doors, offering 178 keys to travellers in the country. Further, the group announced the signing of Radisson Hotel and Residences Erbil, in Iraq. In addition, Pakistan remains a focus for the group by signing four hotels and serviced apartments in the capital city of Islamabad with the first opening in this new market aimed for 2025.
Radisson says it plans further expansion in Makkah with the upcoming debut of Park Inn by Radisson Makkah Thaker West and of Park Inn by Radisson Makkah Thakher East in the first quarter, with new standards for contemporary lodging in Makkah to meet the needs of an increasing number of international and regional visitors. Also set for opening in early 2024 is Radisson Hotel Jeddah Tahlia Street, as well as the introduction of the Park Inn by Radisson Hotel and Apartments Kuwait.
“Our ambitions remain strong as we continue our robust expansion efforts in the region, focusing particularly on resorts as well as serviced apartments. We continue to penetrate new markets as we have seen in Erbil and Amman while we strengthen our position with strategic owners in established cities such as Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Makkah and Muscat, to name a few.
“Our value proposition to our existing and new owners continues to improve with a comprehensive brand offering and a pragmatic conversions approach to drive openings,” Radisson business development VP for the Middle East, Greece, Cyprus, and Pakistan Elie Milky says. 
