France’s Accor Hotels has signed four hotel management agreements with Egyptian developer Al-Arabia Real Estate Development (ARCO).

The agreement will see Accor operate four hotel developments set for completion in the next seven years. The signed properties include the Fairmont Fuka Bay, Swissotel Fuka Bay, Novotel Al-Alamein City, and the Ibis Styles Al-Alamein City.

The Fairmont Fuka Bay, which is set for completion in 2019, will feature 250 rooms and 150 Fairmont branded residences. The Swissotel Fuka bay will comprise of 300 rooms and 200 residential units, and will be completed in 2022. Both hotels will be built within 50 kilometres of Marsa Matruh International Airport.

Meanwhile the Novotel Al-Alamein City, which is set for completion in 2018, will be made up of 250 rooms. The fourth project will be the Ibis Styles Al-Alamein City and will have 300 rooms.

Accor purchased the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissotel brands this year.

According to the World Tourism Organisation, Egypt has experienced an inconsistent tourism market over the past five years, as political tensions kept tourists away. More than 14 million people visited the country in 2010, but that fell to fewer than 9.5 million the following year. It rose again to 11.2 million in 2012, but has been gradually declining since.

Earlier this year, Accor’s Middle East senior vice-president Oliver Granet told MEED that in addition to the international attractiveness that Egypt boasts, it has a huge domestic market that has been able to alleviate the impact of four years of instability on the hotel sector.