Accor expands in Saudi Arabia with second ibis

Accor has signed a management contract with His Highness Prince Abdullah Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al Saud to develop its second ibis hotel in the Kingdom, in Yanbu.

Managing director Accor Middle East Christophe Landais said: “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s travel and tourism market is currently maturing and we see the time is right to bring a second ibis hotel in the Kingdom, ibis Yanbu. Our fast-paced development platform for ibis in Saudi Arabia shows our seriousness in expanding Accor’s internationally branded economy hotel.

“We are truly honoured to partner with His Highness Prince Abdullah Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al Saud. His long-term vision in promoting KSA as a world-class destination echoes our passionate belief in providing world-class economy accommodation to business and leisure travelers visiting the Kingdom. With his full support, we are expanding Accor’s ibis network of high quality hotel services at the best value-for-money prices in Yanbu,” he added.

Accor’s development team chose the city of Yanbu in the Madinah Province as the next expansion target for the ibis brand. The city’s “excellent infrastructures”, such as a recently modernised domestic airport located three hours North from Jeddah by road and, its location on the Red Sea were reasons given for the move.

Yanbu is a major industrial center, known for oil refinery and international export business. Yanbu also presents high potential for leisure tourism by a being coastal city with great spots for diving.

ibis Yanbu joins Accor’s expanding ibis network and is due for completion by 2012. It will be Accor’s second ibis hotel in KSA, after ibis Riyadh which is due to open in early 2012. Currently, there are nine operational ibis hotels in the Middle East representing 2203 rooms (five in the UAE, two in Kuwait, one in Jordan and one in Oman).

His Highness Prince Abdullah Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al Saud, owner of Al Ahlam Marine Tourism Group, said: “We are happy to partner with Accor, the world's leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe. In them we find a trusted and globally-recognised partner. With their presence in 90 countries with 4,100 hotels representing more than 500,000 rooms, we are confident that they have the expertise and capability to expand their services in this market. Together we can make ibis number one in the Kingdom’s economy lodging segment.”

The new hotel will offer 196 rooms, an all-day-dining restaurant, a coffee lounge, three meeting rooms as well as an outdoor swimming pool, a diving center and several leisure shops.