HMH to launch three new hotel properties in Saudi Arabia

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The Hospitality Management Holding (HMH) Group said it will be showcasing its innovative projects in the hospitality sector across the region at the Arabian Travel Market, the largest B2B tourism expo in the Middle East, which kicks off on May 1 in Dubai.

Unveiling its plans for the four-day event, HMH said it will utilise the platform to shed light on its future strategies and plans to expand into foreign markets through new partnership agreements with top firms.

A 20-year-old fully-integrated hotel management group, HMH currently manages 13 hotels and resorts in and outside the UAE market with a total inventory of 2032 rooms of various categories.

It is expanding its portfolio by opening three new hotel facilities in KSA in the next quarter and is currently in the process of negotiating and planning with several potential owners in Egypt, Libya, Oman and in other major countries in the GCC, for further hotel developments.

On the opening day of ATM, the company will sign a management agreement for three new hotels. It will also celebrate the launch anniversary of its hotel brand, Ecos.

The group will unveil on the second-day details about its expansion plans in addition to unveiling its development strategy for the near future. It will host delegations from the AGCC markets.

On the upcoming show, Chief Operating Officer Patrick Antaki said: "We are keen to participate in this important exhibition given the exceptional opportunities it provides for all the tourism industry stakeholders to meet, communicate, exchange experiences and learn about best practices, as well as conclude partnerships and agreements."

This year’s participation is significant as it comes after impressive growth witnessed by the regional markets in general and the tourism sector in the UAE in particular.

"This exhibition will help bring in wider economic benefits to our industry and opportunities for various participating entities," he added.

According to him, HMH will expand its presence in the hospitality sector by entering new and emerging markets, which will help expand its global presence.

The UAE, he said, has established itself as a key global tourism hub and continued its efforts to widen its tourism infrastructure, including expanding its airports, building more hotels and resorts, and launching new entertainment venues.

"The tourism sector in the UAE has continued achieving record growth levels in 2022 and Q1 of 2023, most of which exceeded the levels of 2019. By the end of 2022, hotel establishments in the country received 25 million guests, who spent 91 million tourist nights, with a growth rate of 18 per cent from 2021 and seven per cent from 2019," he added.

According to Antaki, the occupancy rate during 2022 reached 71%, which is among the highest in the region and the world.

Hotel revenues achieved a qualitative leap during the year 2022, as total hotel revenues reached AED38 billion, with a growth rate of 23 per cent over 2019.

Dubai received 14.36 million international visitors from January to December 2022, an increase of 97 per cent compared to the same period in 2021, thus exceeding the recovery levels globally and regionally. During January and February of 2023, the number of international visitors to the city reached 3.10 million, he added.