Positive growth seen for Abu Dhabi hotel industry

Abu Dhabi hotel industry is experiencing positive growth with 5,200 rooms in the pipeline for 2017, according to a JLL report. As many as 2,300 rooms are set to enter the market by the end of 2015 alone, the report said.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA) also reported a 20 per cent increase in hotel guests in the first quarter of 2015 compared to Q1 of 2014.

JLL said in an exclusively report for The Hotel Show Dubai that 45 per cent of current supply are five-star properties. Openings in the final months of 2015 include the luxury Bab Al Qasr Hotel near Presidential Palace, set to boast 677 rooms and a private beach.

Chiheb Ben Mahmoud, executive vice-president, Head of Hotels and Hospitality Group Middle East and Africa at JLL, said: "More than 70 per cent of hotel room supply in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are in the four- and five-star category."

He said that this positioning structure is in line with the historical phase of destination building, driven by international and local corporate demand as well as corporate related leisure tourism (direct and indirect incentive), more than domestic and regional business.

Christine Davidson, group event director of the dmg events hospitality portfolio including The Hotel Show Dubai, said: "This is an exciting year for the hospitality industry in the Middle East with massive development across all emirates, GCC and wider regions totalling 453 hotel projects and 134,217 rooms."

He said that the UAE currently leads hotel construction with Abu Dhabi and Dubai featuring as strong markets and Saudi Arabia and Turkey following closely behind.

JLL said that hotel construction is already under way and will bring the total room count in Abu Dhabi from 20,700 at present to 26,000 by 2017. Optimism for Abu Dhabi for the rest of this year has led authorities to increase hotel guest targets for 2015 to 3.9 million instead of 3.5 million.

Due to a large number of government initiatives to grow Abu Dhabi as a high quality tourist destination JLL has cited a positive growth outlook. The expansion of International Airport and Etihad Airways, further improvement of its leisure offering and attractions, hosting world-class events, and major campaigns by the ADTCA are promoting Abu Dhabi on a global scale .

Attractions launching in Abu Dhabi in coming years include the new Louvre and Guggenheim museums and Warner Bros theme park on Yas Island.

The growing Middle East hospitality and leisure market will be discussed in at The Hotel Show and The Leisure Show, which will be held in Dubai on September 28-30 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. More than 18,000 attendees from 98 countries will source products from 780 suppliers and expected to be attended by over 80 international industry experts at the Vision Conference.