22 March 2016
Saudi Arabia - The Holy City of Makkah is leading hotel development in Saudi Arabia with 24,133 rooms currently in the construction pipeline, according to a new report.

Riyadh follows with 10,053 rooms and Jeddah with 6,980 rooms under development, with the majority of rooms forecast to open to the public over the next 5 years, says the new report by TOPHOTELPROJECTS commissioned by The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2016.

Makkah is therefore the 2nd top city in the Middle East and Africa for the number of hotel rooms set to enter the market, behind only Dubai, with 43,714 rooms currently in the pipeline.

"With the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah forecast to exceed 17 million visitors by 2025, the number of local and international hoteliers looking to invest continues to grow," said Christine Davidson, group event director of the dmg events hospitality portfolio, organisers of The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2016. "With the Abraj Kudai forecast to open in Makkah in 2019, adding 10,000 new rooms to the market, it is not surprising that Saudi Arabia leads the way in hotel construction."

The new report identifies The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group as one of the top 10 international brands with the most projects currently under development throughout Saudi Arabia. Its pipeline includes two new hotels set to open in Makkah: Park Inn by Radisson Al Naseem Makkah (2016), and Park Inn by Radisson Aziziyah Makkah (2017).

Basel Talal, District Director, The Rezidor Hotel Group Saudi Arabia and General Manager of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Riyadh said: "Both of these hotels offer privacy in highly accessible locations for pilgrims and Umrah travellers. The evolution of religious tourism has been a priority for Saudi Arabia's Government over the past years and has resulted in considerable investment and interest from developers and operators alike. In addition, Umrah is now available the whole year and the Government has recently announced its intention to increase the number of visas over the coming ten years parallel to the completion of the ongoing infrastructure and transportation projects. A result this will, of course, mean an increase in the number of pilgrims able to make the journey, as well as smoothing out seasonality for the tourism industry in Makkah."

Grant Salter, Head of Travel, Hospitality and Leisure Advisory at Deloitte, will discuss "Market performance, trends and projects in Jeddah and Makkah" at the 2nd annual Vision Conference at The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia 2016 in Jeddah in May. He commented: "The substantial rise in supply expected over the next few years in both Jeddah and Makkah will be interesting to observe as the supply and demand dynamics currently show a market in balance with occupancy and ADR relatively unchanged over the last 12 months. Makkah should be able to cope with the rise in supply expected but Jeddah could face headwinds."

Projects and trends moving and shaping the hospitality industry in Saudi Arabia will be covered in detail at The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia's Vision Conference, 17-19th May 2016 at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events. For more information on how to attend the conference for free, access: www.thehotelshowsaudiarabia.com.

-Ends-

The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia is organised by dmg events and belongs to the dmg hospitality portfolio comprising of The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia, The Hotel Show Dubai, Hotel, Food & Beverage India, The Leisure Show Dubai, Piscine Middle East, The Middle East Hotel Awards, The Middle East Pool & Spa Awards, The Vision Conference and TecSec Summit.

The Hotel Show 
100% Hospitality 
for the hotel, restaurant, café and foodservice industry
The Hotel Show Saudi Arabia (17-19 May 2016, Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events) and The Hotel Show Dubai (17-19 September 2016, Dubai World Trade Centre) are pivotal business forums for the hospitality industry in the Middle East and Africa. Working with Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, industry associations, and partners, the 2016 shows include visionary features, extensive educational content (through the Vision Conference) and other knowledge sharing platforms together with senior level networking. Find out more or register to attend FREE at 
www.thehotelshowsaudiarabia.com or www.thehotelshow.com

About dmg events
An international exhibition and publishing company, dmg events produces market-leading exhibitions and conferences for the global energy, construction, coatings, hospitality and interior design industries. As a leading supplier of face-to-face business information, with a customer-centric focus that localizes operations and relationships, our objectives are to keep businesses informed and connect them with relevant consumers to create vibrant marketplaces across multiple event platforms and communities. 

dmg events is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT) an international portfolio of information, media and events businesses listed on the London stock exchange.

dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa
Founded in 1989, dmg events has operated in the Middle East since 1995 and owns many leading brands including The Big 5 portfolio of construction events, INDEX - the Middle East's largest event for the interior design industry and The Hotel Show, the longest running and most important event for the hospitality industry.

Headquartered in Dubai, UAE and with satellite offices in India, South Africa and the UK, dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa organizes over 45 events across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, North America and Europe. The events attract more than 250,000 customers every year and provide opportunities for trade professionals to do business, network and learn. For more information visit www.dmgeventsme.com

About DMGT
'Satisfying the need to know'
DMGT manages a balanced multinational portfolio of entrepreneurial companies, with total revenues of almost £2bn, that provide a diverse range of businesses and consumers with compelling information, analysis, insight, news and entertainment. The company employs more than 10,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.  It generated revenues of £1,864m and profit before tax of £291m in the year to September 2015. DMGT supplies high-value information to the insurance, property, energy, education and finance sectors, operates highly successful events and attracts a growing, global audience to its media activities.

The B2B businesses are:

  • Risk Management Solutions (RMS)

  • dmg information

  • dmg events

  • Euromoney Institutional Investor plc

The consumer business, dmg media, includes:

  • The Daily Mail

  • The Mail On Sunday

  • MailOnline (DailyMail.com in the US)

  • Metro

We have shareholdings as joint venture partners or associates in a variety of innovative businesses including Zoopla Property Group Plc* (Zoopla & Prime Location) and Wowcher.

DMGT aims to provide the highest quality information, insight and services to attractive growth markets in innovative ways, building on a track record of earnings and dividend growth. For more information visit www.dmgt.com

*c30% share

For more information and/or images please contact Heather Macpherson, PR Manager of the dmg events hospitality portfolio on +971 4 445 3749 or heathermacpherson@dmgeventsme.com

© Press Release 2016