Plans to open 11 new hotel projects

Haitham Matar: The performance of "InterContinental" hotels in Dubai has exceeded "pre-pandemic" levels

Haitham Matar: "Dubai recorded strong levels of performance in conjunction with the (Expo 2020) exhibition."

Haitham Matar, head of the InterContinental Hotels and Resorts Group in the Middle East, Africa and India, said that the group, which operates 26 hotel facilities in the UAE market, aims to open 11 hotels during the next five years, including six hotel facilities in Dubai. The significant levels of performance achieved by the group's hotels during the past year and the first quarter of this year.

He added, to "Emirates Today", that the various performance indicators in the group's hotels in Dubai, including hotel occupancy, average prices and return, exceeded pre-pandemic levels, noting that the occupancy rate during the past year reached about 75%, to rise to 80% during the first quarter of this year, explaining that sometimes occupancy rates reached 90%, which is one of the very high rates.

And he indicated that Dubai recorded strong performance levels in conjunction with the "Expo 2020", and continued to record high rates after the end of the international exhibition, pointing to the presence of a large percentage of confirmed reservations during the next few months.

Matar stressed that the demand for the tourism sector in Dubai has continued to rise gradually since the emirate opened its doors to international tourism movement following the “Covid-19” pandemic, to reach and exceed pre-pandemic levels, indicating a significant increase in the average number of hotel nights spent by visitors in Dubai.

And he indicated that with Dubai launching the virtual work program (remote work from Dubai) for foreign professionals, a large number of visitors chose to come and work from Dubai, from various countries of the world, especially those that faced closures for a long time, which was reflected in a significant rise in the average nights. Hotel, noting that 5% of our guests during the pandemic period were those who obtained this visa.

He pointed to the attractiveness of tourism investment in Dubai, supported by the strong indicators recorded by a tourist destination with a great international standing.

He indicated that the group has another 60 hotels in the pipeline in the Middle East, and is signing agreements to establish more hotels.

• «Intercontinental» operates 26 hotel facilities in the UAE market.

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