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June 16 - A new classification system will hit Abu Dhabi’s hotels by 2011, said tourism chiefs in the UAE capital on Tuesday. Inspection visits will start by August. According to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), hotels and hotel apartments in the emirate will have a new classification, and will be rated on the basis of stars while apartments will be classified as deluxe, superior or standard. "This…
June 15 - Atlas Hospitality is considering expansion in the Middle East as the hospitality sector in the region appears to be recovering, said the company’s Managing Director Siegfried Nierhaus on Monday. "We are focusing our development in the UAE and want at least three new hotel projects in the pipeline during the next three years. We are watching the economic indicators and they are heading in the right…
June 15 - Work on the much-delayed Salam Yiti project in Muscat being developed by an investment unit of Dubai Holding and the Omani government will pick up in the “next few months,” said Wael Al Lawati, CEO of the Omani tourist development arm, Omran, on Monday. Earlier this month, it was learnt that work on the $1.7bn Salam Yiti project had come to a halt as Sama Dubai, the overseas investment firm of Dubai…
June 15 - Hotel occupancy rates and revenues in Jordan during the first quarter registered an increase, according to a report released by the tourism ministry on Sunday. The number of guests in good hotels rose by 23 per cent to 555,210 in the January-April period, up from 450,253 last year. The report also said that revenues from tourist sites rose from JD5.465 million in the first quarter of 2009 to…
June 14 - The Port Ghalib project will have 23 internationally renowned hotels by the end of the second phase, said Kuwaiti based M.A. Kharifi Group on Monday. The project is being developed at a cost of $2 billion. At the moment, there are four hotels operating at Port Ghalib, including The Palace by Intercontinental, The Oasis and The Sands by Crowne Plaza and The Marina Lodge. "The tourism industry in…
June 13 - Qatar has purchased the Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo which overlooks the River Nile. The move is thought to be Qatar’s strategy to consolidate and enhance its investments in Egypt. Around $250 million has already been paid to the First Arabia Company that owns the Four Seasons in Cairo. The hotel currently operates 269 rooms and connects to one of the largest shopping centres in Cairo.
Abu Dhabi, June 10th, 2010 -- Emirates Palace will open their Golden Goal World 3D Football Lounge tomorrow. This iconic hotel and landmark of Abu Dhabi, will provide the opportunity to experience unique 3D viewing of World Football in luxurious surroundings. Depending on matches the number of guests will vary per day. "With no entrance fee, Emirates Palace aims to provide a unique experience for our guests,…
June 10 - The Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) is looking into building Aloft Hotel in London, slated to open just in time for the London Summer Olympics 2012. The hotel will have 252 rooms and will be part of London’s largest conference and exhibition venue ExCel situated in Docklands. “ADNEC is committed to innovation as evidenced by our decision to introduce a new hospitality brand to the UK,”…
June 10 - Dubai-based hospitality company Jumeirah announced plans of expansion into India on Wednesday. According to details, OM Tourism in Delhi will appoint two representatives for Mumbai and Delhi to look into Jumeirah’s brand positioning. The representatives will play a key role with regard to Jumeirah’s expansion into other countries including current operations in the UAE, UK, Germany, France, Russia,…
Spanish hotel group Sol Melia will open its first hotel in the Middle East next year. The property will be named Melia Dubai and will have 167 rooms, it was learnt on Wednesday. The five-star hotel will be operated under a management agreement in Al Raffa, Bur Dubai and will feature restaurants, 24-hour coffee shop, sky bar, disco bar, business centre, and meetings and events facilities.
June 9 - Muriya Tourism Development (MTD) announced on Tuesday that the first phase of the Jebel Sifah Complex in Oman will be completed by early next year. "We are probably the only integrated tourism project that has not stopped work," said MTD Marketing Director Baha'a Kareem. The complex will span over 6.2 million square metres and will be surrounded by the sea and the Hajar mountain range, added Kareem.…
June 9 - The average occupancy rates for hotels in Beirut stood at 69 percent in the first quarter of 2010, the same as last year. These were the findings of an Ernst & Young’s survey of the Middle East hotel sector. Beirut’s occupancy rate ranked 14th among 18 markets in the survey, once again, the same as that of the corresponding period last year. As per the details of the survey, the average rate per room…
June 5 - Luxury hotelier Elisabetta Gucci, daughter of Italian fashion designer Paolo Gucci, plans to open 40 hotels in the next 15 years across the Middle East, Far East and South America. She plans to open the first hotel in Dubai by the end of this year, said a hotel executive. Partner Lorens Ziller at Elisabetta Gucci Hotels & Resorts said that the 87-room luxury boutique hotel is complete and the next…
June 3 - The Rezidor Hotel Group has rebranded its mid-market brand Park Inn to Park Inn by Radisson. "This new name is in line with our decision to strongly focus on the development of our two core brands. Park Inn is a young brand which we launched in early 2003 only and brought to over 140 hotels with over 26,000 rooms in operation and under development across EMEA. The link with Radisson and its great…
June 02 2010 - A four-star hotel in Al Khuwair, Oman, will be completed soon, said hotel General Manager S.A. Salman Rizvi. Titled the ‘The Platinum’, Rizvi said that this new property is “yet another sign of Oman’s booming tourism sector.” Tourism in Oman is continuing to grow in spite of last year’s financial crisis. Other tourism projects in Oman include a five-star hotel in Al Buraimi, Jabal Saifa Resort,…
June 01 2010-The Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok re-opened its doors on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 to welcome guests back to enjoy the hotel’s facilities and services. The first guests arrived in the morning and were warmly greeted by the hotel’s General Manager together with more than 100 associates who lined up with welcoming smiles accompanied with a traditional Thai “wai” and a big round of applause as the couple…
June 1 - The Dubai Court of Cassation on Monday suspended a ruling by the Court of Appeal to impose sequestration on Hamarain shopping centre and Marriott Hotel in Dubai. As per the ruling, the legal custodian is now required to hand over the centre and hotel to the Hamarain family to let it run the way it used to before the imposition of the sequestration order. The Hamarain family's lawyers, Sameer Jaafar…
May 31 - The Ramee Group of Hotels and Resorts announced that it plans to open six new hotels in the Middle East over the next three years, starting with its first property, the 103 room Ramee Rose Hotel, which is set to open in Tecom, Dubai in October. The other four and five star Ramee hotels are planned for Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain. Raj Shetty, Chairman and managing worker of Ramee Group, said he will…
