April 23- A number of hotel chains in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are considering expanding and renovating their properties along with developing new projects. According to sources in the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), several hotels are eager to renovate and expand their properties. “This is due to increasing demand from year-round Umrah visitors, as well as from both business and leisure travelers,” said Mohammed Alghamdi, a JCCI member.
Reports indicate that around 38 new hotel rooms are springing up daily in GCC countries including Saudi Arabia. Forty-eight hotels with 14,178 rooms are set to open in 2010, at an estimated cost of $7.3 billion. Furthermore, there will be 21 hotels with 7,000 hotel rooms in Saudi Arabia by 2013.
In this regard, work on the Sheraton Jeddah Hotel & Resort renovation project has already started (in 2009) and will continue till the end of this year. Similarly, the Four Points by Sheraton Mall of Arabia, a 300-room hotel in Jeddah will open in 2012 while Four Points by Sheraton Dhahran will open in 2013.
“Saudi Arabia represents the largest GCC market for us and we see tremendously high potential across the Kingdom for the coming years,” said the Ritz-Carlton Hotel’s Sales Director Mohamed Halawani.
