The Crowne Plaza (left) and InterContinental hotel (right) in Dubai Festival City. The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has 18 hotels in the Emirates with more than 5,000 rooms, and seven more properties in the pipeline. Pawan Singh / The National
The Crowne Plaza (left) and InterContinental hotel (right) in Dubai Festival City. The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has 18 hotels in the Emirates with more than 5,000 rooms, and seven more propShow more

Middle East outstrips Europe in building big hotels



The Middle East is putting Europe in the shade when it comes to building big hotels.

The current crop of hotels being built in the region have on average 50 per cent more rooms than those being developed in Europe, latest industry figures show.

According to data released from the consultancy STR Global, the July pipeline in Europe comprises 813 hotels with 133,797 rooms, or an average of 165 rooms per hotel while in Middle East and Africa there are plans for 485 hotels with 118,535 rooms, or 244 rooms on average.

"This is typical in [European] cities which are already saturated and land values are expensive so the correspondingly smaller plots can only support smaller properties," said John Podaras, an independent consultant in Dubai. "Europe's growth in this sector is likely to derive mostly from the eastern European countries which are, or at least were, until the financial crisis hit, going through similar growth spurts as in the Middle East."

In Europe, Istanbul's horizon is the busiest followed by London, Berlin, Moscow, Amsterdam, Vienna and Madrid.

The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has 18 hotels in the Emirates with more than 5,000 rooms, and seven more properties in the pipeline.

"Our current pipeline in the UAE is weighted towards luxury and upper upscale brands - InterContinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites - in line with the region's continued preference for luxury travel experiences," said Pascal Gauvin, the chief operating officer for India, Middle East and Africa for IHG. "Europe, on the other hand, has more demand in the mid-scale segment. Having said that, we have seen increasing demand for our mid-scale brands in the Middle East."

IHG regional properties slated to open this year are in Oman, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, with five for 2014 in Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The InterContinental Dubai Marina will open next year. There are two more InterContinental properties, three Staybridge Suites properties and the UAE's first Crowne Plaza Resort in Ras Al Khaimah in the pipeline.

There were 114 hotels under construction or in planning for the UAE as of July, according to STR Global.

Overall in the Middle East and Africa, the highest growth is in Oman, with 4,577 rooms in development. It is followed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan.

"North Africa and the Levant will unfortunately be heavily influenced by unrest and is highly unlikely to recover before a good five years have elapsed from the cessation of hostilities," Mr Podaras said.

In the UAE, 32,261 rooms are under construction or planned.

In Abu Dhabi, there are 15 hotels under construction and 11 more in the pipeline, according to STR Global. There is an existing supply of more than 20,000 rooms and 6,800 in the pipeline in the capital.

The average daily room rate in June in Abu Dhabi was Dh421.49, a decline of 3.9 per cent over May, with the revenue per available room standing at Dh251.42. STR Global data shows average daily room rates were the highest this year in February at Dh726.

"No doubt the increase in capacity at the airport and Etihad when the new Midfield Terminal is delivered will assist, although the key demand driver of exhibitions and conferences will also need a boost," Mr Podaras said.

In Dubai, the demand continues to increase the number of hotels with the property developer Emaar, for example, announcing its own brand of budget hotels last month.

"The Dubai pipeline currently represents a growth in hotel rooms of approximately 7 per cent annually, a rate which is likely to continue," Mr Podaras said. "A potential slew of new or resurrected projects being announced in the near future could well result in a flattening of the revpar [revenue per available room] growth two to three years from now as the new supply begins to be delivered."

Outside Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the hotel industry in the rest of the country is still in its infancy and the pipeline in emirates such as Ras Al Khaimah will impact overall revenue per available room there, he said.

Rixos Bab Al Bahr in Ras Al Khaimah with around 600 rooms is expected to open its doors in February.

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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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West Asia Premiership

Thursday
Jebel Ali Dragons 13-34 Dubai Exiles

Friday
Dubai Knights Eagles 16-27 Dubai Tigers

If you go

The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road. 

The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
 

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A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.

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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up

Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm

On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm

The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm

The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm

Romang, June 28 at 6pm

Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm

Underdog, June 29 at 2pm

Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm

A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm 

 

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