The operator of the Radisson Blu hotel brand has said its rapid expansion plan for emerging markets will continue despite ongoing concerns about terrorist attacks.
In an interview with UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph, Wolfgang Neumann, CEO of Rezidor, which operates the Radisson chain, said hotels must continue to run as normal, albeit with tighter security, just as its Radisson Blu in Bamako, Mali, has managed to in the wake of a recent attack.
In November 2015 gunmen stormed the hotel, taking hostages and causing the deaths of 22 people in total. Three of those who lost their lives were hotel employees.
The property re-opened just a month after the incident with a grand re-opening ceremony and Neumann has stated that this deadly attack will not affect the company’s expansion plans.
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Neumann told the newspaper: “The important thing is that we do everything possible to have the security that one would expect from an international hotel and get on with it, continue to operate and to do everything possible for our guests and staff.”
Rezidor, also well-known for its mid-market Park Inn brand, runs 351 hotels across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and is growing aggressively in emerging markets. Of the company's 106 hotels in development, 62 are in the Middle East and Africa.
In 2017, a 260-room Radisson Blu hotel is due to open in Erbil, Iraq, and this year Rezidor plans to open a 126-room property in Misrata, Libya.
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