Marriott International said it plans to open 13 new properties across the Middle East and Africa by 2017, said a report.

The latest additions will cater to the rise in business and leisure travel, said the Gulf News report.

The US company opened the Dubai Marriott Hotel Al Jaddaf earlier this month and is set to re-launch the Riyadh Marriott Hotel, and in the second quarter of the year, it will open the Makkah Marriott Hotel, it said.

It also plans to open hotels in Abu Dhabi, Rwanda and Ghana next year, said the report.

The group is now focusing on catering to the latest generation of tech-savvy travellers via its mobile check-in phone app, it added.