(Ecofin Agency) - French hotel group AccorHotels plans to open 60 additional hotels in 14 African countries in the next four years, Bloomberg reported on April 24, 2019, citing Mark Willis, the group’s director for MENA region.  

"In the next two years, we will open more than half of those Sixty hotels in Egypt which bounced back after a crisis caused by external factors," the executive said.

Egypt’s tourism industry sunk in deep crisis after an attack carried out in 2015 by members of terror group ISIS. This attack led to the death of 224 passengers who were Russian for most of them.

Apart from Egypt, AccorHotels plans on opening 10 hotels in Nigeria, 7 in Ethiopia and 3 in South Africa.

The group will fund its new expansion strategy via Katara Hospitality Fund, an investment fund it launched in July 2018 in partnership with Qatar group Katara Hospitality. This fund has an investment capacity well over $1 billion and usually invests in the hospitality industry in Africa.

AccorHotels currently has 143 hotels in Africa, 63 of which are in South Sahara.