Marriott International has announced that its global pipeline of nearly 50 hotels and resorts to open over the next four years will be focused on emerging business and leisure markets.

The operator is planning to open 24 new locations in the Asia-Pacific region; nine in Africa and the Middle East; 12 in the Americas; and four in the European market. Six hotels are earmarked to open this year, including the 364-room Jaipur Marriott Hotel in India, which will feature a signature Quan spa, seven restaurants and a nightclub.

The 720-room Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre in China will feature a spa and a fitness centre, while the 319-room Guangzhou Marriott Hotel Tianhe will open this autumn. Elsewhere, the 199-room Rayong Marriott Resort and Spa will be situated on the Gulf of Thailand and feature a spa; a fitness centre; a kids' club and a water sports pavilion.

The 295-room Shanghai Marriott Luwan and the 392-room Haikou Marriott Resort and Spa - both in China - will also open this year, the latter including a spa and tennis courts. Marriott Hotels and Resorts senior visce president of brand management Paul Cahill said: "Look for our hotels and resorts in many emerging business and leisure destinations, such as Jaipur, Cartagena, Algiers, Marrakech, Accra (Ghana), Kigali (Rwanda) and Vietnam."

Image: Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre