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RELATED ARTICLES: Gucci eyes boutique hotel potential in ME and Asia | GCC spend on new hotels to hit AED4.29bn in 2010 | Hoteliers planning major investment in UAE
The UAE is continuing to invest heavily in tourism according to a report which revealed it had the highest number of hotels in the construction pipeline across the MENA region.
The May 2010 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report, which spanned the whole of Middle East and Africa, suggested the UAE had 55,629 rooms in the construction pipeline compared with just 15,770 rooms in KSA.
Dubai specifically which had the best rates, with 32,516 hotels rooms due to be constructed and 16,510 rooms already in the construction phase.
Across the whole of the Middle East and Africa, there are currently 468 hotels due to be constructed, totaling as many as 127,938 rooms.
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Commenting on the current tourism market, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Europe Africa and Middle East president Roeland Vos said last month that the UAE was “an important market” for his brand, and that Abu Dhabi particularly had a “strong growth pace”.
Similarly, Action Hotels Group chairman Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al Mubarak Al Sabah was reported by Emirates Business as having said that his hotel group was expanding “aggressively” in the region.
Meanwhile Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) revealed that the number of hotel guests staying in the emirate rose by 12% in April this year, compared with April 2009.
Among the hoteliers planning to build hotels in the region is the Spanish hotel group Sol Melia, which plans to open its first property in the Middle East next year - a five star, 167-room Meliá Dubai.
At the same time, industry experts continue to be optimistic about a developing tourism market in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities expecting tourism revenue to increase by 4.8% in 2010 alone.
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