Global hospitality chain, Marriott International, earmarks Johannesburg for its first Southern African property, reports Natalia Thomson

Marriott International Inc. is the kind of large brand hospitality chain that can bring more travellers to South Africa. So says Ed Fuller, President and MD International Lodging, who recently visited South Africa to explore the possibility of expanding its African footprint to the country. “Marriott brands went where it was easiest to grow like Europe, North America and Asia. We’re now represented in 70 countries and it’s time to fill in some of the areas we’ve not operated in the past.” Added focus on the continent has come with the appointment in Ghana of Paul Ansah, VP International Development Western and Southern Africa, who will be tasked with, among other things, looking for hotel management opportunities across Africa, including Rwanda, Angola, Mauritius, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. “South Africa really is the gateway to the continent, so a focus for Marriott will be to look at South Africa’s gateway cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town,” says Ansah. Fuller confirms that the company usually leads with its ‘halo brands’, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts or Marriott Hotels & Resorts, although he does see potential for Ritz Carlton or Renaisssance properties in high-market locations like Johannesburg, which will be the first destination the group seeks to make its mark in South Africa.