
Millennium and Copthorne Middle East and Africa (MEA) revealed growth plan to operate a total of 50 properties in the region by 2017.
"In the last three years, we have expanded in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.," Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, president and CEO of Millennium and Copthorne Middle East, said at GIBTM 2014 in Abu Dhabi. "Religious and business tourism in these two regions are the driving forces for hotel expansion in the Middle East. Our plan is to expand throughout the entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
The hotel group will open properties in Saudi Arabia's main cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Medina, as well as second-tier cities such as Hayel, Jizan and Baha.
The hotel group's next flagship property for MICE will be the Millennium Hotel and Convention Centre in Kuwait City, which will open towards the end of 2014. The property will have 13,000 square feet of meetings space and 307 rooms.