Dr. Bad Al Badr, Dur Hospitality's chief executive officer, and Dr. Hamad Ismail, vice president for investment & tourism development division at Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, at the launch of new strategy
DUR Hospitality is strengthening its status as the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah's leading brand with the launch of its new strategy at the recently held Arabian Travel Market (ATM at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Dr. Hamad Ismail, vice president for investment & tourism development division at Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), said “I'm proud to see this new hotel brand focused on providing true Saudi hospitality to the visitors of the holy cities. Saudi Arabia has a rich hospitality tradition based on its deep spiritual beliefs. The new Makarem embodies both a modern hotel environment.” Dr. Bad Al Badr, Dur Hospitality's chief executive officer, said “the market is mature and the demand is high as reputable sources expect the number of visitors to Makkah and Madinah to reach 25 million by 2025, once the expansion of the two holy mosques is completed.” “It is our responsibility as a Saudi brand to lead the hospitality benchmark in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in line with the best international standards. The rebranding of Makarem came as a result of the new strategic vision of its mother company, Dur Hospitality, that announced that we will invest SR1.5 billion ($400 million) in developing hotels and luxury residential complexes, to achieve a planned portfolio of 20 hotels and six residential properties in the next seven years throughout the Kingdom, out of which SR600 million will be dedicated to launch hotels in Makkah and Madinah to be operated by Makarem, our spiritual hotel brand dedicated to serve the Holy Cities.“ Dr. Denis Sorin, President of Hotels Operations, said “throughout the years as one of the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah leading brands, Makarem successfully demonstrated that no one could compete with our local expertise.” Makarem is not only renovating its existing properties to ensure that they address, when not exceed, our guests expectations all the way, but we are also introducing new services, dramatically enhance our offerings and make our guests journey more rewarding in all senses of the word, spiritually and otherwise with the introduction, for instance, of an exciting new guest loyalty program. “All Makarem team members are hard at work to ensure that all our stakeholders, guests, business partners and of course hotels' owners recognize that Makarem is the Holy Cities' hospitality benchmark today and even more so in the years to come.” Dr. Sorin added “we at Makarem are launching the “My Journey” concept which emphasizes more than ever the high quality standards, attention to details and overall care to make their journey more spiritual and fulfilling.” — SG
