Marriott, Al Qimmah to open over 2,700 hotel rooms in Saudi Arabia amid kingdom's tourism drive

Jan 14 (Reuters) - Marriott International MAR.O and Al Qimmah Hospitality will open more than 2,700 new hotel rooms in Saudi Arabia, the companies said on Wednesday, in a move to bank on the growing tourism market in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia is shifting its focus mid- and upper-mid-range tourism options after years of developing expensive luxury resorts, as it looks to increase access to hotel accommodation for religious pilgrimages.

The deal includes the opening of five new hotels in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah, under four of Marriott's brands – JW Marriott, Four Points by Sheraton, Element Hotels and the Four Points Flex by Sheraton.

Marriott has been operating in the kingdom for over four decades and has 44 properties and over 11,000 rooms in operation across 13 brands.

Last year, peer Hilton Worldwide HLT.N said it had 100 hotels in the pipeline in the kingdom and expects to create more than 15,000 jobs, with at least half of those filled by Saudi nationals.

Al Qimmah Hospitality is backed by Bindawood Investment, the real estate arm of the Bin Dawood family, which is actively involved in real estate development, hotels and residential complexes.

(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

((Anshuman.Tripathy@thomsonreuters.com;))