The Middle East Hotel Construction Overview report indicates that the region’s pipeline has 541 new properties slated to open in the coming years, 180 of which are due in the UAE alone. (Saudi Arabia is in second place with 134 projects.)
The report also predicts that most of the new hotels will open before 2020, with 2017 as the busiest at 189 hotels and 58,527 rooms.
Next Year
Notable hotel openings scheduled for 2017 include the world's largest hotel, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia (10,000 rooms) and the world's first Paramount Hotels & Resorts property making its debut in Dubai. IHG is also set to open Dubai's first 100-percent solar-powered hotel that year, and two of Rezidor’s three upcoming UAE hotels will open in 2017.
The Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Waterfront will open its doors during the first quarter of 2017; followed by the Park Inn by Radisson Resort Ras Al Khaimah Marjan Island in the second quarter; while the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Canal View will make its debut in the first quarter of 2018.
"With these three new signings, we are adding over 1,000 rooms to our portfolio in the UAE, and further improving our brand awareness in the country, while expanding our offering to guests and further improving the business efficiencies to our investment partners," said Elie Younes, EVP and CDO of The Rezidor Hotel Group.
“The UAE is a key strategic market for us,” Wolfgang M. Neumann, president and CEO of Rezidor, said. “Dubai, the world's fourth most-visited city in 2015 with 14.2 million overnight visitors, has been on an unprecedented growth journey for the last decade. The emirate's ambition is to hit 20 million visitors by 2020, and position the country as both a world-class business and leisure destination. We want to contribute to the ongoing journey and support this fast-growing sector together with our experienced regional partners.”