TravTalk Middle East Online Magazine
With many hotel projects under construction, Dubai’s dynamic hospitality sector has depicted room stock to be 132,000 by the end of 2019. Stakeholders share their insights with TravTalk.
TT Bureau
HE Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism
Dubai’s hotel industry remains at the forefront of cross-sector efforts to drive tourism growth, as we collectively work towards realising our Tourism Vision and enable our 2020 goals. Driven by the visionary leadership of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, we will continue to work with stakeholders across the public and private sectors to ensure the hotel industry and the overall tourism sector are aligned with our strategic aspirations to be the most visited, recommended and revisited city in the world.
Alison Broadhead, Chief Commercial Officer, Jumeirah Group
Our confidence in the ongoing strength of Dubai’s attraction as a destination for both leisure and business is shown in our recent announcement of a new brand – Zabeel House by Jumeirah – and plans for our collection under the new brand include three hotels in Dubai. With two properties in Al Seef and one in The Greens, the Zabeel House by Jumeirah Collection features hotels in vibrant neighbourhoods that enhance Dubai’s appeal to travellers, with moderately-priced rooms in an upscale, casual environment.
Olivier Harnisch Chief Executive Officer Emaar Hospitality Group
The hotel industry report by DTCM and Future Insights underlines the robust potential of Dubai’s tourism and hospitality sectors. Emaar Hospitality Group supports Dubai’s vision to position the city as a year-round destination that serves to all segments of travellers. Our three home-grown brands, the premium lifestyle Address Hotels+ Resorts, Vida Hotels and Resorts and Rove Hotels meet the lifestyle aspirations of the diverse tourist demographic that Dubai welcomes. With over 30 hotels in our development pipeline, several in key locations in the city, we will contribute to the growth of the industry.
Bill Keffer, General Manager, JW Marriott Marquis Dubai
The hospitality sector continues to benefit from the ever-increasing number of visitors to Dubai, particularly from markets such as India and China. As we look towards Expo 2020, there is significant development taking place around the Business Bay area. As the world’s tallest full-service hotel, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai now offers prime water front accommodation, meeting space and distinctive dining, with the canal side hub really beginning to take shape. A robust annual events calendar by DTCM has also helped to support the positioning of Dubai as a leading global city to visit.
Timothy Kelly, General Manager and SVP Operations, Atlantis, The Palm
In line with Dubai Tourism’s vision of attracting 20 million visitors per year by 2020, the resort has succeeded in maintaining the strength of the brand in all target markets achieving an overall occupancy of 90 per cent last year. For 2018, we continue to drive long-haul markets and have seen a strong beginning of the year with occupancy levels of over 90 per cent. Creating and maintaining customer loyalty becomes paramount for business success. Customer loyalty can be promoted and nurtured via customer service which is consistent and aligned with quality management initiatives.
Vipin Khattar, General Manager, Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights and Residences
Select markets in the world deliver a sustainable growth year-on-year – while still delivering high-yield occupancy. This can only be achieved when a vision like making Dubai the leading destination for travel, business and events by 2020 is followed by great initiatives by both the Dubai and the Federal Government. We expect 2018 will follow an upward trend in leisure travel particularly from the Indian, Russian, Chinese and African markets, with guests finding themselves drawn in by the variety of attractions and activities, events and festivals, and air connectivity.
