IHG chief operating officer IMEA Pascal Gauvin has confirmed that the operator's focus in the Middle East & North Africa will be the expansion of mid-scale brands.
In an interview with Hotelier Middle East, Gauvin said: "We anticipate that the market will to continue to diversify as more players enter the Middle East. This is in line with the UAE’s vision to bring a more diverse hotel room supply to the country."
He added: "In this vein, we also foresee the demand for mid-scale hotels in this region continuing to increase. In order to align with the UAE’s vision and that of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 plan, we are placing a bigger emphasis on our mid-scale brands.
"Our focus in the MENA region will be expansion of our Holiday Inn brand family, and the recent signing of Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City with the Al Futtaim Group is a testament to that."
Gauvin revealed that nearly 60% of IHG's pipeline (by number of rooms) is made up of Holiday Inn hotels, with properties in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Dubai due to open in the next three to five years.
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