The total value of the 1,156 hospitality and tourism projects in the GCC region has exceeded US$147 billion (Dh539 billion) in March 2018, according to BNC Network, the largest project intelligence provider in the MENA region.
Among the 1,156 hospitality projects, 724 projects worth US$78 billion (Dh286 billion) are hotel projects while 140 hospitality projects worth US$50 billion (Dh183 billion) are resort hotels and 292 hospitality projects worth US$19.5 billion (Dh71.5 billion) are hotel apartments. As many as 492 hospitality projects worth US$39.4 billion are currently on progress-including tender and under-construction stage.
As many as 210 hospitality projects worth US$26.8 billion (Dh98.35 billion) are in the pipeline-in planning, concept and design stage. However, in terms of value, US$80.9 billion (Dh296.9 billion) worth of projects-or 55 percent of the projects-are currently on hold.
“Most of the hotel projects are being constructed in the UAE, especially in Dubai in order to prepare the city to welcome a record number of visitors during the World Expo 2020 mega event,” Avin Gidwani, Chief Executive Officer of BNC Network, says. “Dubai is racing against time to deliver a large number of hotel rooms and service apartments to be able to handle 20 million hotel guests per year and 25 million visitors during the Expo 2020. “Besides, the opening of the Saudi economy, under the country’s current leadership, one would expect a lot more tourism projects coming up in future, as part of the Saudi Vision 2030.”
According to the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) the emirate’s tourism regulator, the city of Dubai needs 40,000 additional hotel rooms in order to host such a mega event. Dubai’s nearly 600 hotels and serviced apartments collective has an inventory of more than 100,000 hotel rooms.
