AHIC to turn spotlight on Saudi Arabia
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This year’s Arabian Hotel Investment Conference 2011 (AHIC) will turn the spotlight on the Saudi Arabian hotel sector. AHIC 2011, which will be staged in Dubai from 30 April to 2 May, will feature a dedicated panel discussion on Saudi Arabia, entitled ‘Kingdom Investment Spotlight’. The focus of which will be to explore the transformation of the Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah and the impact this will have on the region’s religious tourism industry and the opportunities for hotel investors and operators. Key figures involved in the seminar will include Yasir Abu Sulayman, Head of Structured Finance, The National Commercial Bank; Muhammad Al Amir, Managing Director, Riyada International Hotels & Resorts Co. Ltd: and Tarik H. Nabulsi, Deputy CEO, Elaf Group. It will be moderated by Chiheb Ben-Mahmoud, Senior Vice President Hotels, Jones Lang LaSalle. The past 10 years have seen a 172% growth in the number of hotels in Saudi, as a result of the increasing role that the Kingdom is playing as a regional economic powerhouse. Figures from the SCTA indicate that based on the current economic growth forecasts there is a requirement for an additional 230,176 hotel rooms across the Kingdom ranging from serviced apartments to luxury five star properties – an 83% increase from the requirements of today.The hotel industry can also benefit from the Kingdom’s progressive strategy to break into the lucrative MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions) market. This strategy is focusing on; the development of the institutional and regulatory framework; product development; human resources development; marketing and research, in order to enable Saudi Arabia to play host to large numbers of events across the whole country which will have a significant positive impact on the hotel sector.Eng. Ahmed Al Issa, General Director for Licensing and Quality, SCTA, said: “The hotel industry is, despite issues that may be affecting other sectors, continuously growing, and although sensitive to political and economic factors, is not as fragile as some people may think. Saudi Arabia has seen its hotel industry pick up quickly despite the economic pressures facing the world since 2008, and there is a strong focus on both leisure and business tourism. With such high forecasts for demand over the coming decade, there is significant investment opportunity in the hotel industry which will support the growth in the Kingdom’s wider economy.”
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