Source: TOPHOTELPROJECTS

The number of visitors from Europe to countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council—a group that includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman—is projected to increase as much as 17 percent from 2018 to 2020.

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Experts say this rise will most likely be driven by an increased number of flights from Europe to the region, friendlier travel routes, more competitive pricing, and an increased supply of mid-market hotels located throughout the region, according to recent data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market 2018. In fact, according to Arabian Travel Market's research partner Colliers International, as many as 24.6 million EU residents are expected to travel to one or more of the countries that make up the GCC between now and the year 2020. This constitutes a hike of four million travellers as compared to figures for the years 2015 to 2017.

Simon Press, senior exhibition director, ATM, said: "Historically, Europe and the GCC have enjoyed excellent travel and tourism links. Building on this, over the next three years, EU arrivals to the GCC will increase and we will see this in both the leisure and business segments. While European tourists have previously travelled to the GCC for its luxury resorts, the growing numbers of millennial travelers, middle-class tourists and corporate travellers on a budget, are slowly changing traditional market trends, as is the growth in affordable, mid-market hotels combined with an increase in low-cost flights."

New Travel Routes from Europe to the GCC

There are myriad new travel routes coming that will do a better job of connecting tourists in Europe with the countries in the GCC.

Besides Emirates' new route to Stansted airport in the United Kingdom, flydubai is also now scheduled to start flying to Krakow in Poland this month, further extending the carrier's Eastern and Central European network to a whopping total of 24 destinations, with a list of those that includes Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Prague, Skopje, Sarajevo, and Sofia.

Increased Supply of Mid-Market Hotels Helps, Too

Getting to the region simply and easily at a good price eliminates one set of major obstacles. Something that is helping to alleviate another is that the GCC is now home to an increased supply of mid-market hotel properties.

GCC hotel developers have in large part turned an increased amount of their attention to quality mid-market properties with Dubai and Riyadh now home to a collection of four-star hotels flagged by names such as Aloft, Centro and Studio M. This growth will continue with a 19.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) forecast in four-star development between 2018 and 2020.

Let's take a look at a few other projects currently underway in the Middle East:

Anantara Dubai Creek HotelAnantara Dubai Creek Hotel

will be located in Culture Village, which is currently under development by Dubai Properties …[READ MORE]

Santorini ResortSantorini Resort

is a mixed-use project located in the Al Marjan Islands in Ras Al-Khaimah …[READ MORE]

Royal Tulip

Hotel MuscatThe eight-storey hotel will feature two restaurants, pool, spa and fitness centre and extensive meeting and conference facilities …[READ MORE]

More information on hotel projects in the Middle East can be found on TOPHOTELPROJECTS, the specialized service provider of cutting-edge information of the hospitality industry.

Jule Grass
Marketing Manager
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TOPHOTELPROJECTS