São Paulo – The Jumeirah hotel group, based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, is planning a strong international expansion in coming years. According to the group’s vice president of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Piers Schreiber, it intends to increase the number of hotels that it manages from 12 to 60 by 2012. A significant share of ongoing projects are located in emerging countries, in keeping with industry trends.
"According to hospitality industry specialists, the travel and hotel sectors are growing fast in several emerging countries," Schreiber told ANBA by e-mail. "We estimate that the annual growth in number of rooms in the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), some Southeast Asian nations, the Gulf countries, North Africa, and the West Coast of Africa is 5%, compared to 2% to 3% [growth] in more mature markets (the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Japan)," he added.
In this respect, the executive stated that the company is interested in South America, including Brazil. "South America is a region of strategic importance for the Jumeirah Group," he declared. "The company is permanently discussing potential hotel management deals with third parties," he said.
The only project scheduled for the region, however, is the Jumeirah Culu Culu Polo Resort, in Argentina. The group only manages the hotels; it does not build them.
According to Schreiber, real estate developers are showing special interest in the Middle East and Asia. He informed that, in the Arab world, 455 hotels are now under construction, totalling 125,000 rooms. In Dubai alone, more than 32,000 rooms should be delivered, 17,000 of which are already being built.
"In terms of demand, we have seen occupancy rates stabilize in 2009 and expect 2011 to show a stronger, sustainable recovery," said the executive. "In the case of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman), the supply of luxury and upscale hotels continued to increase even during the recession," he claimed.
He said, however, that in the next ten years, the sector’s development in the region should slow down, because it will cease to be an emerging region to become a more mature market for tourism.
Presently, nine hotels managed by the Jumeirah group are in Dubai, including the postcards Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach and Madinat Jumeirah. The company also manages two enterprises in London and one in New York.
Future launches include enterprises in the Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia, the Maldives, Thailand, China, Panama, Spain, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Germany, the Virgin Islands, and Argentina.
In addition to the luxury hotel and resort brand, the group manages flats, restaurants, spas, a water park, and a hospitality management academy. This year, the company launched a new hotel brand, VENU, whose first project is in Shanghai, China. The Jumeirah Group was established in 1997 and is now a part of Dubai Holding, a conglomerate of companies that belong to the emirate. Jumeirah is the name of a seafront neighbourhood in Dubai in which the chain’s best-known enterprises are located.
Other chains
Arab companies are taking advantage of the hospitality industry boom underway in the region. Aside from Jumeirah, other groups, such as Rotana, based in Abu Dhabi, also in the Emirates, have a strong presence in the Middle East and North Africa.
Rotana was established in 1992, and manages 70 enterprises in the two regions, according to information from its website, in addition to several launches announced for coming years.
Arab companies also have a strong presence in hotel investment. Such is the case of Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), Kingdom Holding, a conglomerate run by the Saudi prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, one of the world’s richest men.
His company owns, for instance, a 47.5% stake in luxury hotel management company Four Seasons, based in Canada. According to information supplied by the Dow Jones agency, KHI owns stakes in 22 hotels and resorts in operation, and four others under construction. On Wednesday (1st), the group announced the sale of a Four Seasons unit in Cairo, for US$ 145 million, to an Egyptian company. The hotel, however, will continue to be managed by the Canadian company.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
