IHG has signed an agreement with Nouh Mohamad Nouh and Partners Ltd. for the Voco Jeddah Gate, the third Voco signing for Saudi Arabia in nine months.
Slated to open in January 2021, the hotel will be IHG’s sixth hotel in Jeddah and the fifth company brand. The 681-room hotel will be in the Fayhaa area within Jeddah Gate, an integrated master-planned community that also will include residential housing units, commercial areas and recreational facilities once complete. The property will be 10 minutes from King Abdulaziz International Airport and close to the main railroad linking Makkah and Madina (also known as Mecca and Medina) to Jeddah, which is expected to drive its appeal for religious tourists.
According to Mohamad Nouh Marak, GM of Nouh Mohamad Nouh and Partners Ltd., the property will be the largest branded hotel in the city. In addition to two dining options, public spaces at the hotel will include four meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 600 attendees as well as an outdoor pool and a health club.
This agreement follows the signing of what is poised to be the world’s largest Voco, also set for Saudi Arabia. When it opens early next year, the Voco Makkah will have more than 4,000 guestrooms. Back in July, Pascal Gauvin, managing director, India, Middle East & Africa at IHG, noted religious tourism in Saudi Arabia is expected to reach 30 million visitors by 2030, making new developments necessary.
IHG currently operates 92 hotels across seven brands in the Middle East.