First Hilton Hotel underway in Egypt's Marsa Alam

The 370-room new-build property, scheduled to open in 2012, will be part of a large integrated mixed-use project to include a residential town, an entertainment village and a congress centre. With 1.5km of beautiful beachfront, Hilton Marsa Alam will be located approximately 20km south of Marsa Alam International Airport, and 30km from Marsa Alam town.

"This management agreement gives us a firm footing in the emerging holiday destination of Marsa Alam and will further bolster our profile as one of the key players in Egypt's hotel industry, while strengthening our position as the largest hotel brand in Egypt by both number of hotels and room count. We are also pleased that we have been trusted with another opportunity to work with one of our existing owners in Egypt,"

said Christopher J. Nassetta, President and CEO, Hilton Worldwide, who is on a tour of the Middle East.

Marsa Alam is a popular holiday and diving destination, situated near the Tropic of Cancer attracting tourism with its diverse marine life, coral reefs, ancient mining sites, temples and Roman garrisons. Marsa Alam is also linked to Aswan via a highway, opening up the city to combined extended holiday programmes with Nile cruises.

"Hilton is the leading global hospitality brand. We are excited to bring our style, world class service and forward thinking approach to Marsa Alam," said Dave Horton, Global Head - Hilton Hotels. "We look forward to being a valuable community partner and welcoming international travellers to this beautiful destination."

Hilton Marsa Alam will feature six restaurants and bars ranging from an all-day dining restaurant, an outdoor restaurant and a speciality restaurant to a cocktail bar, a lobby lounge and a beach bar. The resort will also feature a multi-purpose function room and two additional meeting rooms. Further on-site facilities will include a health club, four outdoor swimming pools, diving lodge, two tennis courts, entertainment area and a kids club.

"We are delighted to have signed this management agreement with Hilton, who are leaders in hospitality and have tremendous brand recognition in Egypt. As the country continues to witness a growth in tourism numbers, and with Marsa Alam now attracting international tourism from different source markets with its natural, historical and cultural attractions, we are convinced this development will be a huge success," said Hamada Aboul Enein, Chairman, Concord Co. for Tourist Development.

Hilton Worldwide has an impressive brand footprint in the Middle East & Africa with 42 hotels across 13 countries, and another 20 properties in the pipeline. The Hilton brand is the largest hotel brand in Egypt by number of hotels (16) and room count (5,880 rooms), spread across Cairo and all the major coastal resorts (Source: Lodging Econometrics Q1 2009).