Marriott International’s Commitment to Egypt with #Activ8Egypt Campaign

Cairo, Egypt, May 6, 2015: Marriott International is reaffirming its commitment to the revival of Egypt’s tourism sector through the regional announcement of the #Activ8Egypt campaign. First presented to ministers and attendees of the U.S. Egypt Business Summit in late 2014, #Activ8Egypt emphasizes Marriott International’s commitment to work with partners to revive tourism in Egypt, focusing on driving significant incremental revenues through three strategic pillars –local, GCC and international inbound tourism.

The company has had a long-standing history of supporting Egypt’s vibrant tourism sector, dating back to its very first hotel in Africa, the Cairo Marriot. During recent times, which saw a slowdown of the country’s tourisms sector, Marriott International maintained staff levels at all its properties, reaffirming its commitment to the country and along with it, the belief in its competitive edge over other major touristic and investment destinations.

The #Activ8Egypt campaign consolidates this long-standing support in a uniquely modern way. The campaign’s hashtag addresses the young dynamic society that is helping to shape Egypt’s future while the logo of the campaign features the word MISR, which is how Egypt is pronounced in Arabic. The campaign was built using these letters as they each represent words that can describe Egypt’s tourism offer: Magnificent, Inviting, Sensational and Rewarding.

“Despite the challenges in recent years, Marriott International never wavered for a moment in its support for Egypt and in fact, during this challenging time, we maintained our employee levels and vowed to stay the course, launching the #Activ8Egypt initiative late last year,” said Alex Kyriakidis, President, Middle East & Africa of Marriott International.

“Under the #Activ8Egypt plan, our focus is to build and leverage the Marriott distribution channels in conjunction with key global partners and the Egyptian government. Among other avenues, our commitment will be through the strength of our brands, our global distribution of over 4,000 hotels, the Marriott Rewards loyalty program with over 47 million members, and through Marriott.com, the world’s largest revenue generating hotel booking website.”  

Marriott International employs 5,000 people in Egypt who work in six hotels, which together, have over 3,000 rooms. Among the Marriott International properties in Egypt are the JW Marriott Hotel Cairo, the Renaissance Cairo Mirage City Hotel, the Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort, the Cairo Marriott Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino, the Sharm El Sheikh Marriott Beach Resort and the Hurghada Marriott Beach Resort. Marriott International’s presence in Egypt continues to go from strength to strength as it will be further boosted with the addition of two more properties: the Nile Ritz-Carlton, Cairo and the legendary Mena House, the signing of which was announced earlier this year.  These two properties will increase the hotel company’s Egyptian portfolio to 8 hotels and bring its room count to over 3,700.

As part of the Marriott International portfolio, all Egyptian properties will be participating in the upcoming region-wide #MarriottSummer campaign which will see guests at a number of Marriott International’s Middle East or African properties avail of a host of benefits. Features of the offer include a complementary night when booking for three nights or more, as well as discounts on food, beverage and spa treatments, and vouchers for future stays.

“As illustrated through our long history in Egypt and most recently, through #Activ8Egypt, the signing of Mena House, and ongoing initiatives that promote tourism in Egypt such as our summer campaign, Marriott International will continue to work together with partners to bring back the tourism industry to Egypt. That is our commitment,” added Kyriakidis.