More than 80 international industry experts from companies such as PwC, STR Global, Tophotelprojects and Deloitte will speak about megatrends and developments in the hospitality and leisure industry third annual Vision Conference in Dubai.
The conference will be part of The Hotel Show Dubai, to take place at Dubai World Trade Centre on 28-30 September.
Philip Shepherd, partner, PwC Middle East Hospitality & Leisure Leader will speak about trends at the Vision Conference.
Shepherd commented: “The UAE already rivals world-leading tourism and leisure destination, Orlando, in the scale of its transport links, hotels, F&B, and its central global location, within a four hour flight of three billion people.
“We forecast that by 2021 the addressable UAE leisure market will have increased by 70% on 2015 figures to 45 million people, including 31 million international tourists, with residents, their relatives and friends [making up] a further 14 million.”
“If successful, UAE attractions can achieve 18 million theme park visits alone by 2021, in comparison to Singapore’s 6.7 million and Hong Kong’s 15 million today,” he added.
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In the UAE alone, leisure attractions in the planning, construction and pre-opening stages include Dubai Parks and Resorts (2016), Guggenheim Museum Abu Dhabi (2017) and Dream Island, Ras al Khaimah (2018).
Speaking on the topic, Phil Taylor, managing director of Team Leisure LLC commented: “The UAE in particular is at an interesting point in its development as a global tourism and leisure destination.
“Not content with what it has achieved already, it has set itself an even more ambitious vision for the future.
“The Vision Conference Dubai 2015 is an exciting opportunity for the leisure and hospitality industry to consider the vital role they play in delivering this vision and what lessons there are for the rest of the region.”
Christine Davidson, group event director of the dmg events hospitality portfolio, which oversees the Hotel Show, commented: “The wealth of leisure development is matched by mass hotel construction to cater for projected increases in tourist arrivals for 2020 and beyond.
“The UAE is currently leading the region’s hotel construction with over 50,000 rooms in the pipeline.
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“Major hotel projects opening soon include the luxury St. Regis Dubai and Bab al Qasr in Abu Dhabi. However, the most prominent hospitality trend emerging from the Vision Conference programme for 2015 is the growth of mid-market hotel options catered for families.”
Daniel G. During, principal and managing director of Thomas Klein International will discuss the necessity to develop and grow the midscale sector at the Vision Conference.
He said: “My presentation will address the lack of budget resorts in the Emirates.
“Operators across the region are now looking at how they can do their part to attract new market segments, including younger families, millennials travelling in smaller budgets and younger travellers in general who will be drawn by the 2020 exhibition.
“The UAE hospitality market remains near-saturated with luxury resorts. With new mid-market and budget hotel options entering the market, the UAE will be more likely to realise its vision to become a leading world destination by 2020 with a variety of attractions, F&B outlets and hotels to cater to a variety of audiences.”
Vision Conference Partner for 2015, Canon Middle East, joins the “Sustainability for a better tomorrow” panel debate.
Other sessions at the conference will include: “Architecture of the future - how far can it go”; “Investment in the Egyptian hospitality market”; “Chefs debate - trends and predictions”; and “Dubai mega project - an inside look”.
Hotelier Middle East and Caterer Middle East have been appointed as the Exclusive Official Publisher for The Hotel show 2015
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