The world’s largest hotel operator Marriott has announced plans to double its workforce in Africa and the Middle East by 30,000 people over the next three years. “Within three years, we are going to grow to 90,000 rooms across the region,” said Mariott’s president for Africa and the Middle East.

The company which has been very active in Africa and in East Africa especially over the past months also said it plans to establish itself in Kampala and Nairobi.

The Maryland-based firm is indeed presently building in Nairobi the JW Marriott Hotel (which costs $98.8 million) following a deal with Chinese firm Avic. In Uganda, it is acquiring two properties.

Marriott’s move is part of a more global trend of firms to invest more in East Africa’s hospitality industry. In Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, various international luxury hotels brands have announced plans to add respectively 2,956, 1,397 and 1,491 rooms to the nations’ current capacity.

Despite the growing interest of international firms in East Africa’s hospitality sector, the region still lags behind West Africa which has twice its number of upcoming hotels. In the region, Nigeria leads with more than 8,500 rooms in 51 planned hotels, more than East and Central Africa combined.

Schadrac Akinocho