Swiss Belhotel International group is planning to expand further in the UAE and other GCC countries to take advantage of a steady growth in the tourism sector in the region, the group’s chairman and president Gavin Faull said.
He said the group had already strengthened its presence in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman and that it would push ahead with expansion in the region.
He noted that the Group, one of the strongest hotel firms in MENA, expects an economic upturn in the near future in the region due to massive projects.
He said the Hong Kong-based group would open 20 new hotels in 2015 in the Gulf and other countries of the Middle East, adding that this would further bolster its presence.
“Swiss Belhotel is one of the strongest hotel groups in some countries including China, the Philippines, Indonesia and the Far East…we found it important to take the initiative to expand in the Middle East,” he said.
“Our start was in Dubai before we set off towards Saudi Arabia, specifically Riyadh…we then moved to Kuwait and Manama and Doha,” he added.
He said the group’s key projects in Saudi Arabia include the operation and management of the four-star Swiss Belhotel Riyadh hotel which comprises 126 rooms and the Swiss Belboutiqe in Riyadh in 2015.
He said the group has plans to expand its portfolio of hotels, adding that it has already added Swiss Belhotel Saif in Bahrain and Swiss Belresort Ghantout in Dubai besides Swiss Belhotel Plaza in Kuwait and Swiss Belhotel Doha in Qatar.
In 2015, the group intends to open Swiss Belhotel Alghabra in Muscat and Swiss Belhotel Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan, he said, adding that there are also plans to expand in other countries, including Egypt and Turkey.
Swiss Belhotel International already has nearly 120 hotels and resorts worldwide including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iraq.