Monday, Apr 30, 2012

Gulf News

Dubai: Marriott International will need to recruit more than 12,000 staff over the next five years in order to meet the needs of its growing collection of hotels in the Middle East and Africa, a top official said.

Alex Kyriakides, president and managing director of Marriott International, Middle East and Africa, confirmed that the number of jobs at Marriott hotels in the region is expected to increase by 100 per cent from 11,800 to over 24,000 by the end of 2017. The company also said it will focus its recruitment on the UAE where it will hire 4,400 new associates.

Marriott International opened its first hotel in the Middle East and Africa 32 years ago and we have continued to invest in the region and build on its rich heritage to become one of the biggest hotel operators.

Today we have 38 existing properties in 11 countries across seven lodging brands and a further 43 hotels under development which will more than double the number of hotels in the Middle East and Africa over the next five years.

These figures are a measure of our commitment to the growth and development of the regions tourism sector and its position as a leading global business hub, said Kyriakides.

Marriott on Saturday announced the signing of a long-term agreement with Family United General to manage the Residence Inn by Marriott Kuwait City, a 143-unit quality tier property scheduled to open in 2015.

Important milestone

Representing the companys third Residence Inn by Marriott for extended stay travellers in the GCC and an important milestone in its aggressive growth plans for the region, the new hotel will bring the total number of properties joining Marriott Internationals Middle East and Africa portfolio by 2017 to 43 21 of which will be in the GCC.

The region remains a key market for tourism development because of its oil wealth, high disposable income, demographic growth and proven resilience to crisis. In fact, at the end of last year, UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said that the number of visitors is expected to rise from over 70 million last year to 195 million by 2030, Kyriakides said.

Gulf News report

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