By the Caribbean Journal staff

Accor has opened its first-ever Mercure-branded hotel in Colombia.

The Emlie Mercure Santa Marta is located in Santa Marta on the country’s Caribbean coast.

The 140-room beachfront hotel is the company’s sixth hotel in the country.

The project was developed by construction firm Hecol, with an investment by Bricapital, a private equity firm specializing in hospitality.

The Mercure chain is already present in 52 countries, with a total of 711 hotels aimed at both business and leisure travelers.

It’s the latest investment in Colombia’s rapidly-expanding Caribbean-coastal tourism sector, though much of that has come in the area of Cartagena.