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Park Inn opens in Muscat
Park Inn has opened for service on March 19, along Muscat's main highway which links Muscat International Airport to Ruwi business district, minutes away from Shatti Al Qurum, Muscat's main diplomatic and commercial area.. The four-star hotel has 175 rooms, five meeting rooms and business centre, as well as two international restaurants. Park Inn is part of the Rezidor Hotel Group.
Best Western to open in UAE
The Best Western International - Asia group has announced plans to open two hotels, its first in the Middle East, in May. Under a partnership with the Mohammed bin Hayder Group the chain is in the process of rebranding the Dhow Palace hotel in Dubai.
Qatar tourism value to hit $12bn
According to an Oxford Business Group (OBG) forecast, the tourism sector contribution to Qatar's GDP is expected to double by 2012, going up to $12bn from the current level of $6bn. The report by the OBG praised the efforts made by Qatar towards reaching this goal.
Best Western to open two hotels in Dubai
Best Western, through a partnership with the Mohammad Bin Haider Group, plans open the first two Best Western Premier hotels in the Middle East this May. Best Western is currently rebranding a 282-rooms-and-suites Dhow Palace Hotel in Bur Dubai. The rebranding process is expected to be completed within 60 days and the hotel is scheduled to open its door to welcome the first guests as Best Western Premier Dhow Palace on May 1. In addition, Best Western will also brand a new-build Best Western Premier Creek, Bur Dubai, scheduled to open in May 2009.
Middle East urged to boost religious tourism
Travel operators in the Middle East should focus on capturing the potential of the religious tourism sector, which is currently valued at $18bn per year, says Kevin Wright, President of the World Religious Travel Association. Currently, the majority of religious tourism is driven by the Middle East, but more travel alternatives need to be developed to capture the three billion people across the globe that have religious roots in the region. Jordan and Palestine are both seen as growth markets, with 95% of tourism in Palestine religion-based and Jordan aiming to garner tourism revenues of up to $2.4bn per year by 2010. Similarly, Iraq's religious sector is booming with the sacred shrine of Prophet Mohammad welcoming 8 million pilgrims a year.
Jumeirah 'enjoys 90% occupancy rate'
Gerald Lawless, the Executive Chairman of the Jumeirah Group, has said that the chain registered 90% occupancy of its beach properties in February, and estimates for March and April matched this. Speaking to delegates at the Meed Dubai Mega Projects conference, Lawless said that the occupancy rate was thanks to price reduction implemented by the group, which plans to have 60 hotels under management by 2012.
Dubai posts Dhs15.25bn in hotel revenue in 2008
Dubai's hotels recorded 6,996,449 guests and posted an all-time high revenue of Dhs15.25bn in 2008. The figures obtained from Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department (DNRD) confirmed that the number of Dubai's inbound and outbound travellers exceeded 6.6 million during the last quarter of 2008. The latest figures show a 15% increase in revenues compared to 2007 when there was a total of 6,951,798 visitors recorded.
UAE ranks first in regional tourism
The UAE has grabbed top honours in the World Economic Forum's new Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index for countries in the Middle East and Africa. The index is based on criteria such as infrastructure, technology, information and communication, price competitiveness, air and ground transport, and safety. Worldwide, the UAE has moved up seven places in terms of its competitiveness in international tourism and now ranks 33rd among 133 countries surveyed, up from 40th last year.
Vision to open 1,655 Abu Dhabi hotel rooms
Vision Hotels Management company will open 1,655 rooms in the UAE capital in the next two years at a cost of $163m, sources have said. The company, which opened luxury hotel apartments in Abu Dhabi's Tourist Club area three years ago, will press ahead with its expansion goals despite the economic slowdown.
UAE hotel investment worth $6.1bn
The organisers of a hotel industry exhibition in Dubai have said that the UAE accounts for $6.1bn out of $8.8bn being invested in the Gulf. A total of 61 hotel properties are scheduled to open by the end of next year. The UAE will see the completion of 22 hotels this year and 13 next year, according to a survey by research and database company Proleads for The Hotel Show.
Traders Hotel Abu Dhabi to open in Q3
Shangri-La Asia Limited has signed an agreement with the Al Jaber Group to manage Traders Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi, which will open in the third quarter of 2009. The agreement is the third management agreement between Shangri-La and the Al Jaber Group following Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai and Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi.
Jordan takes steps to boost tourism
The Jordanian government has approved a number of measures to boost tourism in the Kingdom, including a drop in Royal Jordanian ticket prices and a reducion on hotel rate sales tax from 14% to 8%. The new measures also include streamlining entry procedures for citizens of from India, China, and Romania.
The Address, Dubai Mall nears completion
The construction of The Address, Dubai Mall, a five-star hotel owned and operated by The Address Hotels + Resorts, is progressing on-schedule for opening later this year with structural and exterior cladding work already completed, according to a press statement. Interior fit-out operations of the hotel, serviced apartments and central podium are nearing completion. The hotel is linked to The Dubai Mall in the Old Town section of Dubai.
Construction of hotels in Middle East declines
The number of hotels planned to be constructed in the Middle East hospitality sector has declined 10% since the onset of the financial crisis, reported Reuters. The region had planned construction of 503 hotels with 147,488 rooms, at the end of last year, down 10% from June 2008. Dubai led the Middle East with 136 projects, accounting for a third of the total.
Beirut hotels bounce back in 2008
Beirut hotels achieve the fastest revPAR growth in the world last year - up 102.2% to $95, according to a new report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The city saw strong growth over the past year as it recovered from security clashes of 2006 and 2007, the report said.
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