Radisson Hotel Group Crosses 100 Hotels in Africa

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Radisson Hotel Group has crossed the 100-hotel mark in Africa, counting both properties in operation and those under development, as the group accelerates its growth agenda across the continent heading toward 2030.

According to Blueprint, the group signed over 15 new hotels and roughly 2,500 rooms in the last 12 months, including first-time market entries into the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe. 

Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria remain its stated priority markets, where the group is actively deepening its presence and widening brand distribution. Radisson Blu continues to anchor the legacy footprint across the continent. The Radisson brand, however, has emerged as its fastest-growing flag, driven by a conversion-heavy strategy that cuts the time between signing a deal and opening a hotel.

Built to Open, Not Just to Announce

Regional Chief Development Officer Ramsay Rankoussi put the group’s ambition plainly. “We’ve crossed the 100-hotel mark in Africa by staying true to our plan, focusing on where we can lead, moving fast on quality conversions, and partnering with owners who share our ambition,” he said. “Our pipeline is built to open, not just to announce.”

Travel and Tour World reports that the conversion-led model has proven its value. Over the past five years, more than 15 hotels representing nearly 3,000 rooms have joined the Radisson Africa portfolio through conversions alone. 

Getting hotels to market fast, rather than waiting years for new builds,  is central to how the group has scaled its African footprint. The latest signings reflect the full breadth of that strategy. They span the DRC, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Egypt, and South Africa, and include Radisson Blu Hotel Kinshasa, three Radisson properties in Lubumbashi, Radisson Harare, Park Inn by Radisson Victoria Falls Resort, Radisson Collection Hotel Lagos Atlantic, new additions in Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakech, Radisson Resort Ain Sokhna Groove in Egypt, Radisson Serviced Apartments COY Sheikh Zayed City. Radisson Serviced Apartments Umhlanga in South Africa.

Nigeria: A Market the Group Is Doubling Down On

Nigeria has emerged as one of Radisson’s most active fronts on the continent. The group now operates 13 hotels and has a significant active pipeline across the country, with Abuja accounting for three hotels totalling 458 keys.

Three new projects are in development beyond the capital. Radisson Hotel Aba will mark the group’s first entry into one of the South-East’s most commercially dense cities. Radisson Hotel & Conference Centre Yenagoa, scheduled to open in 2027, will feature 196 rooms in a city steadily consolidating its role as an administrative and commercial hub in southern Nigeria, near government institutions, business districts, and Bayelsa International Airport.

In Lagos, Radisson Collection Hotel Lagos Atlantic targets the upper segment of the city’s corporate and leisure market, positioning itself on Victoria Island to capture business travellers and high-spending leisure visitors.

Rankoussi identified Nigeria alongside Morocco as the group’s primary depth markets for the next phase of growth, signalling that the country is more than a line item in a regional pipeline. It is a structural priority.

Resorts, Safari Destinations, and New Frontiers

ATQ News notes that the group’s next chapter of growth extends beyond city hotels and business districts. It is building toward a stronger resort offering that tracks where leisure demand is heading. Park Inn by Radisson Victoria Falls Resort, expected to open in 2029, will offer 150 rooms, including five suites, in a setting overlooking Zambezi National Park, five kilometres from Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World that attracts more than 350,000 international visitors annually. 

The group is also exploring entry into Zanzibar and actively scouting opportunities across Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia to meet the increasing demand for nature-based experiences and luxury resorts. 

With presence in more than 30 African countries, Radisson Hotel Group maintains one of the most diverse footprints on the continent, blending depth in focus markets with selective entry into new destinations each year. 

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Nigeria Leads Africa’s Hotel Construction Boom, and Radisson Knows It

Radisson’s deepening commitment to Nigeria does not exist in a vacuum. The on-the-ground data makes the case more clearly than any press release.

Nigeria currently leads the entire continent in hotel rooms under development. The W Hospitality Group’s Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa 2026 report places Nigeria first with 14,392 rooms in the pipeline, ahead of South Africa’s 10,870, Kenya’s 8,653, Egypt’s 6,530, and Morocco’s 5,960. 

Statista notes that the construction momentum connects to a revenue story of comparable scale. Nigeria’s hotel market is projected to reach $1.48 billion in revenue by 2025 and grow at a compound annual rate of 9.57% through to 2030, when the market volume is expected to reach $2.33 billion. 

According to CNBC Africa, hotel occupancy rates in Nigeria are expected to stabilise at approximately 70% in 2026, while the hospitality sector as a whole is projected to contribute approximately 4.5% of the country’s GDP by the same year, according to Trevor Ward, Managing Director of W Hospitality Group. 

What Radisson’s expansion also signals is confidence in Nigeria’s secondary cities, which have not always been evident among international operators. Aba and Yenagoa are not traditional destinations for global hotel brands. The group’s move into these markets suggests that demand has migrated beyond the Lagos-Abuja axis, and that investors are now paying attention to that shift.

The Nigerian hotel market’s core driver remains domestic demand: business travel, government activity, and internal leisure travel. International visitor arrivals, while growing, have historically been modest relative to the country’s size. A stronger international hotel brand presence, particularly with conference-capable, mid- to upper-scale properties, creates the infrastructure to change that ratio over time.

What Radisson’s Africa Expansion Means for the Continent’s Tourism Sector

Radisson’s 100-hotel milestone lands at a moment when Africa’s broader tourism sector is posting numbers it has not seen before. Africa recorded an 8% increase in international tourist arrivals in 2025, the strongest growth rate of any region globally, according to UN Tourism, creating sustained pressure on demand that has made doing nothing an untenable option for hotel investors.

Africa’s total hotel development pipeline now stands at 504 projects covering 97,878 rooms, with 54,742 rooms, representing 56%, already under active construction.

When a group of Radisson’s scale commits this deeply to Africa, not as an experiment but as a structural expansion, it moves the needle for the entire sector. It signals to other international operators that Africa’s hospitality market is no longer a high-risk frontier but a competitive, growing industry worth serious capital allocation. It raises service quality benchmarks in markets that have long needed the uplift. It generates employment pipelines and creates institutional demand for hospitality training. And it increases the range of accommodation options available to the growing class of intra-African and international travellers who once had to compromise on quality or look elsewhere.

For Nigeria specifically, a credible expansion story supported by a global brand is an argument to airlines, tour operators, and conference organisers that the country can deliver the hospitality infrastructure to match its economic scale. That argument, backed by 13 hotels and counting, is now harder to dismiss.

Africa’s hospitality sector is moving fast, and the stories behind the headlines matter. Read more of our coverage on hotel investment, tourism trends, and what international brands are doing on the continent.

 

FAQs

1. How many hotels does Radisson Hotel Group have in Africa?

Radisson Hotel Group now has more than 100 hotels in Africa, counting both properties currently in operation and those under active development. That figure includes recent entries into the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe, as well as an expanding footprint across Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria.

2. Which countries does Radisson Hotel Group prioritise for growth in Africa?

The group has identified Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria as its three priority growth markets on the continent. Beyond these, it is pursuing selective entry into new destinations, including Zimbabwe and the DRC, as well as potential resort markets such as Zanzibar, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia.

3. How many Radisson hotels are in Nigeria, and where are they?

Radisson currently counts 13 hotels in Nigeria across its operations and pipeline. Abuja holds the heaviest active pipeline, with three hotels totalling 458 keys. New projects in development include the Radisson Hotel Aba, the Radisson Hotel & Conference Centre Yenagoa, and the Radisson Collection Hotel Lagos Atlantic on Victoria Island.

4. What is Radisson Hotel Group’s hotel development strategy in Africa?

The group pursues a dual approach: traditional new-build developments alongside hotel conversions, where existing properties are rebranded and repositioned under Radisson flags. The conversion strategy has allowed it to move faster from deal to opening. Over five years, this approach added more than 15 hotels and close to 3,000 rooms to its African portfolio.

5. Why is Nigeria attracting so much international hotel investment right now?

Nigeria leads Africa in hotel rooms under development in 2026, with 14,392 rooms in the pipeline according to the W Hospitality Group, ahead of South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco. The country’s hotel market is growing at nearly 10% annually, hotel occupancy at international-brand properties runs at roughly 70%, and the hospitality sector is on track to contribute approximately 4.5% of GDP. Those figures make the investment case difficult to argue against.