ZambiaÕs tourism industry continues to attract international brand hotelsÊwith French-renowned AccorHotels expressing interest in bringing their brand into the country. This came to light when AccorHotels Senior Vice President and Head of Development for Africa and the Indian Ocean Philippe Baretaud paid a courtesy call on ZambiaÕs Ambassador to France His Excellency Ambassador Humphrey Chilu in Paris over the weekend.
In their bilateral meeting with the Zambian envoy Mr Baretaud said Zambia has come up as one of the strategic destination to expand the AccorHotels brand. He said the decision by management to consider Zambia has been based on the fact that Zambia is one of the most politically stable country in Africa with positive economic prospects that the country continues to show. He said Zambia has been on the companyÕs strategic expansion watch list for a while now and the time has come to bring the AccorHotels brand into the country for mutual benefit.
Mr Baretaud said since setting up base in South Africa in 2016 the company has adopted a deliberate strategic plan to spread the Accor branded hotels across Africa and Zambia is one of the countries on top of the list. In response Ambassador Chibanda thanked Mr Baretaud for taking the time to come and meet with him. He said this indeed shows the commitment and passion the company has to bring the AccorHotels brand to Zambia.
Ambassador Chibanda briefed Mr Baretaud that the government has adopted and started implementing policies aimed at diversifying the Zambian economy which for a long time has relied on mining. He highlighted that government is now looking at other economic sectors such as Agriculture tourism and manufacturing.
The ambassador said the decision by AccorHotels to come to Zambia would not have come at a better time than now when the country has prioritized the tourism sector and looking at ensuring that the industry remains competitive. He said one way of making the tourism industry competitive is by attracting internationally recognized brands such as AccorHotels.
In the coming month AccorHotels will be undertaking a special visit to Zambia to meet with government officials and other strategic partners to forge the way forward. Some of the investment projects of interest include the Hostels Board lodges and development of a five and three star hotels at Mulungish International Conference Center.
Ð AccorHotels, formerly known as Accor S.A., is a French multinational hotel group, part of the CAC 40 index, operating in 95 countries around the globe. Headquartered in Paris, France, the group owns, operates and franchises 4,100 hotels spanning in all continents of the world representing several brands, from budget and economy lodgings to five-star hotels. The group started its operations in 1967, when the first Novotel hotel was opened in Lille Lesquin.
Ð Hotel brands: Hotel F1, Ibis, Mercure, Novotel, Adagio, Mei Jue, Pullman, MGallery, Swisstel, Sofitel.
Ð In December 2015, Accor announced the purchase for US$2.9 billion in cash and shares of FRHI Hotels & Resorts, the owner of the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swisstel chains. The transaction adds landmark properties such as the Savoy Hotel in London, Raffles Hotel. In Africa, the group operates 111 hotels making up 19,675 rooms in 21 countries
Ð The group has more than 240,000 employees in AccorHotelsÕ brand worldwide.
