$30bn invested in 120 regional hotel projects

"The sheer scale of hotel projects across the region underlines the massive potential for new business for the suppliers to the hospitality," said Maggie Moore, Exhibition Director of The Hotel Show 2008 taking place at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre from 8-10 June 2008.

The hotels are either in the planning stage, being designed or currently under construction, according to the database of research company Proleads which monitors major construction projects across the region from initial planning to completion.

It shows the United Arab Emirates clearly leading the way in the region with 66 hotel projects, followed by Saudi Arabia (17), Oman (13), Qatar (10), Egypt (seven) and Bahrain (seven).

The top ten multiple hotel projects in the planning, design and construction phases alone represent total investment of more than $18bn.

Earlier this year the Proleads database recorded a total of 185 projects planned or under construction across the entire tourism and leisure related sector in the Arabian Gulf including hotels, resorts, sports facilities, mixed-use malls, marinas, theme parks and other related facilities worth a total of around $90bn.

"We all know that there are dramatic increases taking place in the UAE hotel sector, with the number of hotels and hotel apartments in Dubai expected to increase to 488 by 2010, up from 452 last year," said Moore.

"Meanwhile, the number of hotel rooms in Abu Dhabi is forecast to grow to 75,000 in 22 years by 2030 from 10,000 now under the emirate's development strategy. In the planning stages, for example, Abu Dhabi's $3bn MGM Grand Hotel development will have over 1,200 rooms.

"Big hotel developments are taking place across the rest of the region as well. In fact, the three biggest multiple hotel projects currently under construction are all outside the UAE".

The under construction list is headed by Bahrain's Dilmunia Island development - a "medical tourism" destination incorporating three 5-star and a 4-star hotel along with hospitals and clinics for a total investment of more than $1.5bn".

Second is Qatari Diar's $1bn Nile corniche development in Cairo, Egypt, incorporating a 440 keys spread between hotel rooms and serviced apartments.

This is only one of Qatari Diar's huge investments in the hospitality sector in Egypt with a $5bn Hurghada Tourism City incorporating ten hotels in the planning stage.

It is also investing $450m in a tourism resort in Sharm El Sheikh.

For sheer scale, number three in current construction - the $710m Jabal al-Kaaba development in Makkah, Saudi Arabia - is hard to beat.

A total of nine hotels are being built with a total of 10,000 rooms.

In the design phase, another Qatar investment tops the list with Lusail's $3bn Qatar Entertainment City to incorporate four 5-star hotels, each of between 300 and 400 rooms.

Second is Dubailand's $1.6bn Asia-Asia hotel, planned to be the world's largest with 6,500 rooms.

In the planning stages another major Egyptian development is the $450m Tod Hill Hotel near Luxor with 4,500 rooms.

Oman is planning two 5-star hotels each of 300 rooms on the Wave development.

A family resort in Oman's Musandam is in the design phase with a projected cost of $780m.

Also in the design phase are two notable UAE projects - Abu Dhabi's $1bn Capital Centre incorporating a 724-room 5-star hotel and a 91-floor Hard Rock Hotel as part of the Dubai World Trade Centre redevelopment.

The Hotel Show and its associated Seven Star Conference provide a future perspective on key trends and drivers shaping the travel and tourism sector in a region where the industry's share of investment in relation to gross domestic product has risen from 8.5% in 2000 to a forecast 11% in 2008.

The Hotel Show is the Middle East's leading supplies exhibition to the region's burgeoning hospitality and leisure sectors and this year will cover nine halls and more than 17,000 square metres of exhibition space when it opens on 8 June 2008 at Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

This represents almost 20% growth over last year and organisers dmg world media Dubai are confident the industry showcase will go on to break more records in terms of visitor numbers.

The show will run from 8 until 10 June.

"This year we will host more than 800 exhibitors from over 46 countries," said Moore. "The regional hospitality industry is in dynamic mode and our early projections are not only being realised but exceeded".