HOSPITALITY
SPOTLIGHT ON HOSPITALITY
Jeddah has attracted strong interest from hotel investors with a healthy 18,000 rooms in the city’s inventory. Cityscape magazine talks to Chiheb Ben Mahmoud, executive vice president, head of hotel advisory, Middle East and Africa about the outlook for the city
D
escribing 2010 as a ‘blank’ year for Jeddah’s hospitality industry, Chiheb notes there were no major additions to the hotel room inventory since the opening of the 142-room Park Hyatt located
on the Corniche and the ELAF Red Sea Mall – a new local quality chain launched by SEDCO which opened a 147 room four-star hotel in SEDCO’s Red Sea Mall. Chiheb says Jeddah, nicknamed ‘Te Mermaid’ (which translates into ‘Bride of the Sea’ from Arabic) and ‘Te Different’ is doing things differently and at its own pace. “More than ever, Jeddah is attracting a strong interest from hotel investors with the Northern Corniche being under the spotlight. Tis is not surprising as hotel development in Jeddah ‘Te Mermaid’ has been rather slow with virtually no new significant addition since the opening of the Park Hyatt and the Elaf Red Sea Mall two years ago. “On the other hand, gateway to the Holy City of Makkah, Jeddah, is
expected to benefit from the transit opportunities that will be created by the Al Haramain railway connecting Makkah and Madinah. On a longer term, the regeneration of the Old Jeddah/Al Balad will create unique hotel investment opportunities in line with the development of cultural tourism in Saudi Arabia. “In the long run, we see emerging in Jeddah several completely different
propositions: Te Northern Corniche - Sea front luxury hospitality, Obhur - ‘Uber’ leisure hospitality, Al Bald - heritage and cultural experience, Central Jeddah: Al Madinah road and Al Talia – central and business hotels, Old airport, Transit-oriented hospitality.” Chiheb notes that Jeddah has made the headlines in the past months, highlighting the urban and infrastructure challenges this mature and complex city is facing. However, he adds that the potential of Jeddah as a showcase of tourism and hospitality development in the Kingdom and a gateway to the
14 I CITYSCAPE I JUNE 2011
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