Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Gulf News
Dubai: Raffles Hotels and Resortson Tuesdayannounced its $400 million (Dh1.46 billion) hotel in Makkah will open in November this year.
The all-suite Raffles Makkah Palace will have 198 rooms and is located within the $3 billion Abraj Al Bait Complex developed by Saudi Bin Ladin Corporation in the development of King Abdul Aziz Endowment Project.
The key feature for the hotel is the close-up view of the holy site Al Masjid Al Haram, and in walking distance of the same.
While the international tourism market has been affected greatly by the credit crunch, especially the luxury and corporate market, Chris Cahill, chief operating officer, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, said there is a growing demand in the Kingdom as tourism revolves around religious and family travel, which has not been affected at all in the country.
"Saudi Arabia is an important market with a population of 35 million. The majority of these are young people. Population growth is expected to be dramatic which equals to demand for new hotels," he said.
Officials said that there would be additional seven announcements of new hotels in Saudi Arabia by the company in the coming 24 months.
In the future, the company is looking at Beirut, Lebanon, Doha, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, UAE, and other gateway cities in the Gulf to launch new projects.
The company's first venture in the Middle East was Raffles Dubai, which will see considerable expansion in the next few years.
"We have an active pipeline but we are selective," he said, because of the low credit situation in the market.
Other projects for the company comprise of seven Raffles Hotel, opening next year, and another six by 2012. Cahill said that the group, which includes Fairmont Hotels, is currently developing 23 hotels across the world that will be operational in the coming four year.
Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
