The Le Meridien chain is expanding in the Gulf by adding two new properties in Doha and Riyadh by 2004, said a top official of the global organisation.
It is also waiting for the dust to settle in Iraq to be able to resume its operations after almost 15 years. The global brand is also going to manage a new property under the Grosvenor House brand at Dubai Marina, currently under construction.
"We have definite plans to expand in the region and are in close negotiation with a number of properties for management contracts. One of them is in Doha and the other in Riyadh which we should be able to start fairly closely," said Sami Zoghbi, managing director of Le Meridien for Africa, Middle East and West Asia.
"We are closely looking into the Iraqi market, where we operated our hotel in Baghdad prior to the imposition of sanctions. If things settle down quickly, we might be in Baghdad by the end of this year as there would be lot of activities there, after a decade of sanctions which deprived the country of modern facilities and amenities.
"We are also closely looking into the Omani market, which is developing as a preferred tourism destination. We might have a property in Oman in the near future."
Le Meridien has 13 properties in the Middle East, of which seven are in the UAE. With the current expansion, the brand might end up having 18 properties in the region by the end of 2004.
Zoghbi said, his organisation is opening a 300-room luxury property in Tashkent this month.
"We are also going to close deals on three properties in India, mainly in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Jaipur. The new properties might open sometime next year. We already have six properties in India.
"We are also aggressively looking in Colombo and Dhaka for suitable properties to launch operations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Once we find suitable partners and properties, we will be there."
He said, presently business in the region's hotels are down and occupancy level has dropped down to between 30 and 40 per cent due to the present crisis.
"However, things are looking brighter as the crisis is almost over. Business is coming back and we are looking forward to inter-Arab travellers which will help the hotels and furnished apartment segments buoyant during the next holiday season," he said.
Gulf News
