Marriott International is strengthening its position in West Africa as economic growth in Nigeria and Ghana boost travel and tourism, according to this article from Bloomberg. Protea Hospitality Holdings, which Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott agreed to buy for $186 million in January, is building five-star and three-star hotels in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, adding 400 rooms to the 700 it has in the country, Danny Bryer, director of sales, marketing, and revenue for Protea, told the news outlet. Marriott will almost double its rooms in Africa to about 23,000 with the acquisition of Protea, helping it expand in a continent where a growing middle class and rising travel are fueling the fastest pace of hotel development in the world. The number of hotels in Nigeria rose 88 percent to 6,200 in the two years through December, according to the country’s tourism development agency. Read more over at Bloomberg.
