Rotana, one of the leading hotel management companies in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe, has announced signing an agreement to manage a new "Arjaan Hotel Apartments by Rotana" property. The 140-key property will be located at M Avenue, the new high-end shopping, entertainment and residential destination in Marrakech. With GCC emerging as a top tourism source market for Morocco, Rotana expects the new property to hold great appeal for travelers from the region, particularly those from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which in recent years has evolved into a key driver for tourism and hospitality growth in the historically rich Northwest African country. Tourists from the six GCC states are estimated to have spent $418 million in Morocco in 2013. "We are very proud to have been selected to manage this superb property which will have strong appeal, particularly amongst tourists and long-stay guests," said Omer Kaddouri, President & CEO, Rotana. "A key target market for our new Arjaan in Marrakech will be the Saudi and GCC travel segment that has emerged as an increasingly important part of the tourism puzzle for Morocco." Catering to both business and leisure travellers, the new Rotana property in Marrakech will feature modern facilities including 3 dining outlets, meeting rooms, conference and banquet halls, high-speed wireless Internet access, a swimming pool, and Bodylines Fitness & Wellness Club featuring a fully equipped gymnasium with cardiovascular and weight training facilities. "The Arjaan hotel apartment in Marrakech will offer everything guests need to be comfortable and productive, and will exude an air of sophisticated elegance across all facets of the property. The hotel's majestic location – in the heart of the stunning, upscale M Avenue – is a highlight in itself, and we look forward to offering our guests a refined lifestyle experience that is second to none," Kaddouri said. An exclusive destination situated in the heart of Marrakech, M Avenue is designed to become a major attraction in Marrakech. Dedicated to lifestyles, M Avenue offers an innovative mix of premium hotels, residences, offices, retail outlets, restaurants, cafés, art galleries and exhibition venues, along a 500-metre-long promenade entitled "Garden Avenue". "With its exceptional location and multi-dimensionality, M Avenue intends to play a central role in the lives of the region's residents and tourists, providing a new way to experience Marrakech by weaving links between a rich heritage and modern Morocco. The fact that Rotana, the region's premier hotel group, has chosen to bring their decades of hospitality experience to M Avenue will help bring us closer towards realizing this vision," said Nabil Slitine, General Manager of Downtown Hotel Corporation, developer of M Avenue. Over the last few years, Marrakech has been consistently named among the world's top tourism destinations by specialized international organizations. In 2015, TripAdvisor named Marrakech the world's best destination in their annual Travellers' Choice awards, ahead of other leading global cities such as Istanbul, London and Paris. Marrakech hosted 1.89 million tourists in 2014 with 6 million overnight stays. The increase in international visitor arrivals was driven by a number of factors including re-introduction of several airline routes that had earlier been suspended during the economic downturn, as well as the city's steady emergence as a major MICE and events tourism destination. — SG
