Fairmont Palm Jumeirah in Dubai is scheduled to open in quarter three of 2012 and is tipped to be one of the group?s headline openings globally. Fairmont Palm Jumeirah in Dubai is scheduled to open in quarter three of 2012 and is tipped to be one of the group?s headline openings globally.

“I think overall the UAE has been tremendously successful, in terms of tourism, trade and financial markets and so on, it’s really become the dominant hub for holiday makers and people doing business in this region. And with that of course there are opportunities for us as a brand to grow quite substantially.

It is not a very small country — Fujairah offers a completely different experience compared to Abu Dhabi, so you’re not all competing for the same clients. And it is so diverse in its offerings that it allows for good penetration of a brand to come in.

“You have a city centre product which has been tremendously successful here with Dubai. That is really the torch bearer of our brand for the region.

Then you have a leisure product, coming on with The Palm, although there is also opportunity on a business, corporate market. You have a straightforward resort hotel coming up in Fujairah, in Abu Dhabi it’s corporate and leisure. So they are really different markets.”

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There is also growth outside of the UAE, with the first Fairmont recently announced for Jordan, “an absolutely lovely property” strategically located in Amman, says Fries.

Fairmont’s debut into Oman is still on the table with a hotel at The Wave development in Muscat, although this has slowed with the opening not expected until 2015, while a second hotel is also planned for Saudi Arabia, Riyadh Business Gate due to open between 2014 and 2015.

Fries acknowledges Fairmont has made a “huge commitment” to this region in terms of expansion and therefore, is also building up expertise at its regional Dubai office, one of only four regional hubs worldwide for the Toronto head-quartered brand.

“Dubai has become our regional hub so to speak, so we have from marketing to technical services, all based here now as a satellite to mirror what our corporate office has in North America, simply because there is so much development and such a commitment taking place here in this region. From here we are servicing the Middle East, Africa as well as Asia, so this is a very important location,” asserts Fries.

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