Mid-market travel in focus at ATM 2016
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Organisers of the Arabian Travel Market recently announced an apt show theme for ATM 2016 – Mid-market travel – a key growth segment for the region’s hospitality and tourism sector.
The event is scheduled to take place from 25-28 April, 2016 at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre. “Reports from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) revealed that up to 50% of the 3,600 new hotel rooms to enter Dubai market in the final months of 2015 have a three-star or lower rating, while competitive room rates are set to rival luxury market, as 69% to have four stars or less according to research,” said Nadege Noblet-Segers, exhibition manager, Arabian Travel Market.
“This will add much-needed midscale room stock to the emirate’s hotel landscape, where three-star or below room supply only accounted for 29% of total availability in the first quarter of 2015,” she added.
Destinations like Dubai are already putting in place programmes to encourage investment into midmarket hotels such as release of government land plots for three and four-star hotel projects, speeding up of construction permit approval process to just two months, and waiver of the 10% municipality room tax for four years upon completion.
Dubai currently has a total hotel key count of approximately 94,000. This figure is set to rise to between 140,000 and 160,000 keys by 2020 with around 20% set to target the mid-market hotel sector.
“There is massive pent-up demand for new midscale projects and this could also be the catalyst for a new wave of visitors,” said Mohamed Awadalla, CEO, TIME Hotels.
Global mid-market brand Louvre Hotels will also be exhibiting at ATM 2016 with a focus on promoting an affordable Middle East hospitality experience.
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