JEDDAH — Dubai is leading the Middle East and Africa for new hotel developments with 96 total projects and 36,523 rooms in the pipeline, a new report published by TOPHOTELPROJECTS for The Hotel Show Dubai 2015 revealed. Dubai has been the Middle East and Africa's leading city for hotel openings for the past 3 years, but activity is now at an all-time high with the new rooms to be added to the existing 65,000 reported by JLL as currently available in 2015, set to bring the total to over 100,000 by 2020. Christine Davidson, Event Director of The Hotel Show Dubai, the largest event for the hospitality industry in the region said: “With TOPHOTELPROJECTS reporting a record total of 694 hotel projects currently underway in the Middle East and Africa, set to add 188,817 rooms to the market over the coming years, the majority before 2020, this is an exciting time for our industry and market.” The busiest year for Dubai hotels is reported to be 2017, with 30 projects opening to the public. Dubai's first fully solar-powered hotel, Hotel Indigo Dubai The Sustainable City, and its first Mandarin Oriental and Bulgari luxury hotels are to open in 2017. The major Dubai Pearl development, a “mix of six innovative 5-Star hotels” is reported to launch in early-2018 including Dubai's first MGM Grand and Bellagio hotels, brands made famous by the Las Vegas strip. Other hot spots are Morocco with 46 active projects, Riyadh with 43 and Doha with 38, following closely behind Dubai. Of almost 700 total hotel projects in the pipeline for the Middle East and Africa, 528 are listed as being in the pre-planning, planning and construction stages, with local and international investors now requiring the materials to build across technology and security, interiors, food services and more. “Hotel and leisure development, build and investment is significant and set to continue, making Dubai the perfect contract market for global suppliers and investors,” Davidson continued. “This year, The Hotel Show Dubai has seen the level of interest reflect directly on the exhibition floor with 1000s of brands joining us from over 45 countries. With larger pavilions from Turkey, Portugal and China in The International Village for 2015 and a host of new brands on board, we know that The Hotel Show Dubai is providing the largest procurement opportunity in the region. For international hotel operators and restaurant owners, Sept. 28-30, 2015 should already be in the diary for The Hotel Show and The Leisure Show at the Dubai World Trade Centre.” The Hotel Show's Vision Conference will return for 2015 welcoming over 80 speakers from across the globe sharing expertise and insight with hundreds of delegates. New forums include the Design Theatre, with leading architects and interior designers sharing latest trends and ideas. While a new Technology Summit, TecSec, provides 3 days of technology specific sessions for IT Directors, owners, decision-makers, consultants and trainees. — SG
