Rotana looks to grow its German guest numbers

Rotana will be headed to ITB Berlin in a bid to expand its number of German and European guests.

“We managed to continue on our expansion path despite tough market conditions, and we have a number of new openings scheduled throughout 2016 that will further strengthen our portfolio. Our interest in Germany as a source market for our properties remains robust – highlighting the important place we believe this market holds in our wider growth plans,” said Omer Kaddouri, president and CEO, Rotana.

He further added: “Our business from Germany contributes to 11% of the entire business across all our properties in all cities and 16% in the UAE — a spike of 13% from 2014.”

The properties in in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah are major draws for tourists from Germany.

Strategic partnerships such as the Etihad and air berlin as well as special air travel deals offered by German tour operators are expected to further boost inbound tourism from Germany. The steady increase in number of young single travellers from Germany is also opening new opportunities for players such as Rotana.

The Group’s expansion plans for 2016 witnessed inauguration of a number of properties in the first two months including Dalga Residences by Rotana, Turkey; Downtown Rotana, Bahrain; and City Centre Rotana, Qatar, adding a combined 697 keys to the group’s existing inventory of 13,296 rooms.

Upcoming Rotana properties set to open within the first half of the year include Centro Capital Doha (1 April 2016); Kin Plaza Arjaan by Rotana, Kinshasa (Q2 2016); Amman Rotana in Jordan (Q2 2016)— Rotana’s second Jordanian property featuring 412 rooms and suites; Vazo Residences by Rotana (Q2 2016), Turkey; two luxury properties in Saudi Arabia— Rosh Rayhaan (Q2 2016) in Riyadh and Centro Shaheen (Q2 2016) in Jeddah. These hotels will add a further 1,364 rooms to Rotana’s inventory.