Ritz-Carlton to open first Tunisia hotel

Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company will open its first branded hotel in Tunisia, the luxury hotelier said.

The Ritz-Carlton Tunis, Carthage is owned by the by Companie Tunisienne de Development Touristique, a subsidiary of the Driss-Jenayah Group and is scheduled to open late 2014, the firm said.

The operator, which manages nine properties in the Middle and Africa and has five under construction, said it is studying plans to expand further in the region.

“We continue to explore other opportunities and destinations in the Middle East and Africa. With the right hotels in the right locations, I believe expansion in this region is an essential part of our future strategy,” said Herve Humler, president and COO of TheRitz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Ritz-Carlton in March said it planned to open its resort brand, Reserve, in Muscat Oman. “I have a project for the Reserve in Muscat, Oman and the Reserve is very special, an out of place, out of reach destination, targeting that very thin market,” Humler said.

The hotelier said last year it planned to double the number of properties it operates in the East to 24 by 2014. The firm, which is owned by the Marriott International, opened its first hotel in Saudi Arabia last year in a bid to tap into the kingdom’s under-served tourism market.

“The whole idea is to double the size of the existing hotels and grow even further; be in the major cities and then go to the secondary cities,” Bob Kharazmi, global officer, worldwide operations for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, told Arabian Business.