The diversified business group Mitsumi opened the first Tulip franchise hotel in Nairobi. Established in 1996, Mitsumi Group is a conglomerate that operates in ten countries with a workforce of over 300 employees. Owning one of Africa’s largest IT and telecom distribution company – Mitsumi Distribution, the group has diversified into several businesses including IT, hospitality, real estate, textile, trading and construction. Mitsumi operates with branches in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, India and UAE.
“We are exhilarated to start our first hotel in Kenya with Golden Tulip. Nairobi city has seen a lot of growth and development in the recent years and with the growing tourism it is right time for world’s renowned hotel chain to set footing in Kenya,” said Jagat Shah, CEO of Mitsumi Group, the hotel’s owner.
The four-star Golden Tulip Westlands Nairobi hotel which has just opened its doors counts 94 rooms and offers a multitude of high-end services including several fine dining restaurants, gym and swimming pool as well as conference rooms for business travellers.
“The tourism sector, especially business tourism, is experiencing strong growth in this region. Our goal is to be there for our clients, namely key accounts, wherever their business takes them in Africa, with quality hotels offering facilities and services to support growth and upgrade quality of leisure and business tourism,” explains Alain Sebah, President Golden Tulip for French-Speaking Africa and East Africa.
Over the past year, the group penetrated the Ethiopian market with Golden Tulip in Addis Ababa and inaugurated yet another in Kigali, Rwanda. Other projects are under development or construction in the region. The number of tourists welcomed across the African continent has more than doubled over the past fifteen years, increasing from 26 million to 56 million in 2014, according to the Tourist Investment and Business Forum for Africa.
