CEO for luxury hotel Ritz Carlton, Simon Cooper, said on Monday they will likely delay the opening of their new hotel in Abu Dhabi by one year. Simon said the new hotel is relatively on schedule and will probably open in 2012. He said their second hotel in Dubai at Dubai International Financial Center will open by the end of the year.
Tourism in Dubai accounts for nearly 20% of GDP and has been under more pressure because fewer people are taking a holiday during the economic downturn. Cooper explained that Dubai hotels are more impacted than hotels in other regions, noting that Ritz Carlton Hotels in Bahrain, Qatar, and Egypt are doing well.