Marriott announced the addition of three new brands in South Africa. Upcoming properties include the first Marriott Hotel in Cape Town, the first Residence Inn in South Africa and the first AC Hotel in the entire Middle East and Africa region. In total, the properties add more than 500 guestrooms to Cape Town, including 189 at the AC Hotel Cape Town and 200 at the Cape Town Marriott Hotel Foreshore.

“Africa is particularly important to Marriott International’s expansion strategy because of the continent’s rapid economic growth, expanding middle class and youth population, as well as the increase of international flights into the continent. With over 850 million people in sub-Saharan Africa alone, there are enormous opportunities,” said Arne Sorenson, president and CEO, Marriott International, Inc.

The three properties are in addition to two other recently announced African properties, the Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch and the Marriott Executive Apartments Johannesburg Melrose Arch. By 2025, Marriott expects to expand its presence in Africa to 27 countries; 200 properties; and 37,000 guestrooms.

“The significance of this announcement for both the city of Cape Town and for South Africa cannot be underestimated. The developments in both Cape Town and Johannesburg confirm the country’s importance to the international travel market — for both the business and leisure traveler. From the perspective of tourism, the addition of three hotels in Cape Town, catering for different market segments among both international and domestic visitors, will strengthen the position of the city as one of the world’s top destinations, and we are confident that Cape Town will gain huge benefits from the likely increase in visitor numbers expected in the future,” said Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International.

In addition, the construction of the three new properties brings 8,000 construction-related jobs to the area, and 700 new hospitality jobs.