THE PIPELINE : MIDDLE EAST , AFRICA
The biggest surprise about the hotel pipeline forecast for the Middle East and Africa ( MEA ) is that there are no surprises . Even though the Arab Spring shook the world with its wave of revolutions , its tremors barely touched the hospitality industry ’ s development landscape . If anything , its aftermath galvanized the attractiveness of destinations that were must-haves before the surge of uprisings that began in December 2010 and further reduced the appeal of the have-nots . “ Yes , there have been ups and downs for the tourism industry , but overall , the longer-term prospects ( for the hotel industry ) haven ’ t changed ,” says Pascal Gauvin , COO , India , Middle East & Africa , IHG .
For the foreseeable future , the major players — Hilton Worldwide , Marriott International , Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and IHG — are looking at the same list that ’ s long dominated the regional rooms race : Abu Dhabi , Dubai , Doha and Saudi Arabia , specifically Medina and Riyadh . “ We ’ re focusing our pipeline on those areas ,” says Jeff Strachan , vice president sales and marketing , Middle East & Africa , for Marriott .
So are key regional players like Jumeirah Group and Rotana . “ Those are the right hot spots with Saudi Arabia , Turkey , the UAE and Qatar , and Rotana currently has operating properties and ones under development across all these countries ,” says Selim El Zyr , president and CEO , Rotana , Abu Dhabi .
Performance keeps these targets high on international chain ’ s wish lists . Last year Dubai ’ s hotels posted their usual 90 % occupancy , while RevPAR advanced an average of 8.9 % in Saudi Arabia and 5.6 % in the UAE . “ Stable countries in the Middle East saw an uplift in both business and leisure traffic as a result of the unrest ,” says Bani Haddad , regional vice president , Middle East and Africa , Wyndham Hotel Group .
The fact that many of the issues that sparked the uprisings of 2010-11 have not been resolved bodes well for continued profit-margin growth in countries that , thus far , have proven themselves virtually impervious to the political and financial upheaval beyond their borders .
If everything goes according to plan , the region will have 84,000 more rooms in the next four to five years ,
Sharq Village & Spa , Doha , is owned and operated by Katara Hospitality , the largest luxury player in Qatar , which aims to own 30 hotels and resorts globally by 2016 .
www . hotelsmag . com September 2012 HOTELS 31