Marriott International will introduce its first Residence Inn by Marriott, part of a mixed-use development that will also include a 129-room Courtyard by Marriott and a 58,000 sq m shopping mall in Jizan, Saudi Arabia.

The Residence Inn property for extended stay travelers will feature 83 units while the Courtyard by Marriott hotel will be the fourth Courtyard property in the Middle East.

Both properties are currently under construction in two adjacent towers separated by a shared swimming pool in the northern part of Jizan City close to the municipality and the new Jizan University.

Marriott will manage both hotels under a long-term agreement recently concluded with Abdulrahman Saad Al-Rashid & Sons.

“We’re thrilled by the continued expansion of our lodging portfolio in Saudi Arabia and to participate in the economic development of Jizan,” said Ed Fuller, president & managing director of international lodging for Marriott International.

“Tourism in the Kingdom has strong growth potential with an average increase of 6.5 per cent year-over-year projected through 2014. We’re confident that both these hotels will be successful from day one because of the power of their brand names, the value and comfort they both offer, their integration with a modern shopping mall and Jizan’s easy accessibility to the renowned offshore Farasan Island archipelago which is recognized for its underwater life.”

Sulaiman Al Rashid, deputy general manager of Abdulrahman Saad Al-Rashid & Sons, said that the opening of the Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn properties will set a new level of hospitality service in the southern province since it is experiencing huge growth in the private and public sectors under the special attention of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques which, in turn, will lead to a tremendous expansion of the hospitality sector in Jizan City.

Residence Inn is Marriott’s second largest lodging brand with nearly 600 properties in North and Central America and the Caribbean.  Courtyard ranks as Marriott’s largest brand with nearly 900 hotels throughout the world. – TradeArabia News Service