Rotana has revealed ambitious plans for the Kuwaiti market as it hopes to expand in the region. In 2018, Rotana will open a new hotel, the company’s chief operating officer Guy Hutchinson said at a media roundtable, The Kuwait Times reported.
Hutchinson also predicted hospitality trends in 2016 as well as the outlook for the region’s hospitality industry in the year ahead. The new hotel that is scheduled to open in two years will be under the “Centro by Rotana” brand, a mid-market affordable concept, and will add 200 rooms to its inventory in Kuwait.
The GCC represents the largest outbound and inbound travel market in the region for Rotana, both in terms of volume and value, the report stated.
Currently, 37% of Rotana’s room nights and 40% of Rotana’s room revenue are generated from the GCC region, Hutchinson said, adding that the company has been seeing an increase of more than 8% year on year.
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Commenting on the growth prospects for Rotana and the wider industry in 2016, Hutchinson said at the roundtable: “We are very optimistic about the outlook for Kuwait and the GCC tourism sector in 2016, despite the fact that market conditions are expected to remain challenging well into the year due to the fall in oil prices.
Increased spending by GCC governments to enhance infrastructure and accelerate the pace of economic diversification is expected to positively impact continued investor appetite for the region and its tourism industry,” The Kuwait Times reported.
On the top hospitality trends expected in the Middle East in 2016, Hutchinson said: “The millennials, or the new-generation travellers, have been the latest focus for the industry. We’re seeing a lot of growth in that area and then they’re influencing the older generations as well.
Rotana has been pioneering e-commerce focused innovations in the Middle East hospitality industry. Furthermore, we have developed a Rotana mobile app which has contributed a 20% increase in monthly mobile bookings in 2015, delivering a significant return on investment in developing the mobility platform.”
Rotana currently manages more than 100 hotels in the Middle East, Africa South Asia and Eastern Europe, with an aggressive expansion plan for the future.
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