Marriott mulls future of suspended Tripoli hotel

US hotel operator Marriott International has said the short-term future of its stalled Libyan hotel remains unclear, as factional fighting continues in the North African nation.

The hotel chain opened its five-star, 370-room JW Marriott Tripoli just days before fighting broke out between anti-government rebels and forces loyal to former ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

“Our JW Marriott Tripoli Hotel operations continue to be suspended. For the time being the hotel is closed, though not closed permanently,” said Jeff Strachan, vice president sales and marketing for the Middle East. “We are working with hotel ownership to return the hotel to its excellent condition and look forward to welcoming guests back.”

Arab Spring has taken a toll on tourism in cash-strapped nations from Jordan and Egypt to Morocco and Tunisia, costing the region more than $7bn, according to the Arab Tourism Organization in Saudi.

The number of visitors to North Africa and the Middle East dropped 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively, in the first half of 2011, said Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation in Madrid.

In April, Ed Fuller, president and managing director for international lodgings at Marriott, said expatriate staff had been evacuated from the hotel when violence escalated in the Libyan capital.

“We all hope everything is viable in the long term,” he said at the time. “We will watch this situation carefully. I don’t have an answer to when [it will reopen].”

Marriott announced it has plans to operate 74 hotels across the Middle East and North Africa by 2015. The company has more than 30 hotels across the region.