Accor said on Sunday it plans to increase the number of hotels in the Middle East from 19 at present to 24 in 2011, then 65 by 2013. The French hospitality group said it will focus on the budget and middle income sector.
Business conditions have worsened, dampening demand for its top end and mid range hotels and Accor’s first quarter sales dropped 9.6 per cent. Accor’s Director for the Middle East Philippe Baretaud said they will focus their expansion on Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar but also see emerging markets for the hotel industry in Oman, Jordan and Syria. He said for the next three years they will focus on upscale, midscale, and budget developments in Saudi Arabia.
