The hotel company has close to 100 hotels, amounting to 16,000 rooms, in operation and under development across Africa. The group has opened 14 hotels and signed more than 25 properties in Africa over the last two years.
Radisson’s Africa expansion
Adding to its recent growth, Radisson has plans to further heighten its presence in Africa with the opening of eight hotels in 2023. The group aims to have 150 hotels in its portfolio across the continent in the next five years.
On this growth, Ramsay Rankoussi, vice president of development in Africa and Turkey for Radisson Hotel Group, said: “Over the last two years, we have accelerated our growth timeline locally and reached new record milestones across Africa, thanks to our balanced development strategy, our tailored approach and our swift response to changing market conditions.”
Consolidating market share
He continued: “As a group, we have prioritised consolidating our market share in key focus markets and expanding our presence in new territories to cement our leading position as the most geographically diverse hotel company across Africa. Our rate of materialisation and openings are testament to the quality of our pipeline and our conversion strategy to reposition existing hotels under one of our Radisson Hotel Group brands.
“What sets us apart is our owner-centric approach with dedicated teams and relevant brands that balance the lowest development cost with access to development solutions. Our adaptive solutions are created to meet local needs, resulting in compact, midscale and luxury hotel offerings as well as serviced apartments with a lean operation model and efficiencies as a result of hotel clusters.”
Milestone developments
Key focus markets for the group’s expansion across Africa include Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt, while new markets of interest include Gambia, Cameroon, Ghana, Tanzania and the Seychelles.
A priority in these markets is quick conversions. The newly-launched Radisson Blu Livingstone Mosi-oa-Tunya Resort in Zambia opened in less than 24 months and Radisson Blu Hotel & Conference Center Niamey in Niger opened in just 12 months.
Hotel openings across the region in 2023 include the group’s first hotels in Reunion Island and Ghana, as well as new properties in Morocco, South Africa, Zambia and Tunisia.
African debuts
In 2022, highlights of this expansion included three new hotel openings in Madagascar and the signing of the group’s first hotel in East Africa, Radisson Hotel Addis Ababa Bole Airport. The Radisson Individuals brand also debuted on the continent with the opening of Marina Resort Port Ghalib in Marsa Alam, Egypt.
Other recent highlights range from the debut of the first internationally branded hotel in Sudan, Radisson Blu Hotel, Juba, to the expansion of the group’s South Africa portfolio to include more than 14 properties – Radisson Safari Hotel, Hoedspruit is set to open later this year. The opening of Radisson Hotel Sfax and rebranding of La Maison Blanche Tunis reinforced the group’s presence in Tunisia, and now Radisson Collection Marsa Alam in Egypt and Radisson Hotel Yaounde in Cameroon are both expected to open in 2024.
