Protea Hotels is African Hotel Chain of the Year 2014, it was announced at the 10thAkwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos, Nigeria.
The awards, made by West Africa’s premier travel trade magazine African Travel Quarterly, form part of the travel expo’s opening ceremony and winners are chosen through a process of public voting, according to Publisher Ikechi Uko.
The Akwaaba African Travel Market is one of the largest in Africa and most influential in the West African Economic Community. It draws up to 10 000 delegates each year from some 20 countries.
Danny Bryer, Director of Sales, Marketing and Revenue for Protea Hotels, says the award is particularly gratifying given that so many readers of African Travel Quarterly are based in West Africa – one of the brand’s largest expansion areas.
“Nigeria as Africa’s largest economy is particularly important to the Protea Hotels brand. We currently have 11 hotels in the country and we hope to double that presence in the next five years.
“But it’s not only Nigeria that’s a vital market. The first Protea Hotel is currently under construction in Takoradi in Ghana, and we hope to expand into other West African nations in the medium term as well.
“This region is a vital growth node for African hospitality because it is prosperous, it has rich resources and a growing manufacturing and technology sector that is positioning it to become a major competitor in the global market,” says Bryer.
Bryer offered congratulations to staffof Protea Hotels. “Our hotels are our people, not our buildings. We couldn’t win awards without them.”
