Arab Finance: Pickalbatros Group has secured a $200 million loan from the World Bank to support the expansion of its hotel portfolio in Morocco, Chairman Kamel Abou Ali told Asharq Business.
Abou Ali noted that the group expects to receive the funding in August or September.
As for the group's local expansion, it will open the Le Méridien hotel with a 280-room capacity in Cairo by the end of 2026, marking the first Pickalbatros hotel in the Egyptian capital.
Moreover, the group will inaugurate the Paradise hotel in Sharm El Sheikh, with a capacity of 620 rooms. The chairman did not disclose the investment amounts allocated to the two projects.
Pickalbatros intends to invest $200 million in 2026 to expand its hospitality operations and develop new hotels, representing an increase of over 120% when compared to spending in 2025.
This aligns with Egypt's aim to draw $35.4 billion in tourism by 2031 and add around 340,000 new hotel rooms, boosting the country's total room capacity to 568,000 rooms, compared with 228,000 rooms at the end of 2024.
Recently, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy announced that tourist arrivals to Egypt increased by 4% between January and the first week of June despite regional tensions and challenges facing the global travel industry.
