Yusuf Lootah, executive director tourism development & investments at Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM), has said that Dubai is set to add 20,000-35,000 mid-market keys by 2020.
Speaking at Hotel Show’s Vision Conference on a panel titled Development & Growth of Mid-range Hotels, Lootah said: “Currently, we stand at 89,000 keys in the market, and we are looking to go up to 140,000-150,0000 keys by 2020. So the additional 60,000 keys will comprise of different asset classes, including hotel apartments.
“We are looking at around 20,000-35,000 keys of the additional new keys to be mid-market. So to have a big chunk in the mid-market shows Dubai’s drive towards catering to the different budgets.”
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Lootah also added that the DTCM has received 51 new applications for mid-market properties since it introduced incentive schemes for the segment, which includes the waiver of the municipality fees on the hotel for the first few years of operation.
Explaining the department’s focus on the mid-market, Lootah said: “It starts with the vision of Dubai and where Dubai wants to be in the next six to 10 years. One of the visions of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – who is the driving force behind the development of Dubai – is for us to become the number one destination for the family demographic. So we have to invest in offerings that can cater to different budgets and for different classes.”
“For this, we would look towards the private sector to focus and plan accordingly and cooperate strongly with Dubai Tourism to ensure that they plan it right, to time it right, and we are here to assist the private sector at the end of the day,” he added.
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