Travel to the US from the Middle East has plummeted at least 20 percent, according to early data seen by the world’s largest hotel operator.
Middle East travel to the US has dropped 20%, said Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson at a press conference in Dubai.
According to Sorenson, President Donald Trump's travel bans targeting Muslim nations were “not good” and has resulted in a loss of travellers globally.
“The travel bans are not good, period,” Sorenson said at the St Regis hotel in Al Habtoor City, Dubai to sister publication Arabian Business.
“We do believe that travel to the United States out of the Middle East is down in excess of 20% and we think travel to the US from Mexico is down between 10-20%. And that’s not surprising; those are the markets where the political noise in the US is the most audible,” he added.
In March, Hotelier Middle East revealed that the US government is temporarily barring passengers on certain flights from eight other countries in the Middle East and North Africa from bringing laptops, iPads, cameras and most other electronics in carry-on luggage.
A US official told The Associated Press the ban will apply to nonstop flights to the US from 10 international airports serving the cities of Cairo in Egypt; Amman in Jordan; Kuwait City in Kuwait; Casablanca in Morocco; Doha in Qatar; Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia; Istanbul in Turkey; and Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The ban was indefinite, said the official.
In terms of the development pipeline Marriott has 1,034 hotel projects in the pipeline, according to Tophotelprojects.
Four-star brand Four Points by Sheraton is leading the way with 123 projects under development, followed by Aloft Hotels (96 projects) and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts (93 Projects).
Besides China (19% of its total development pipeline), Marriott’s main focus continues to remain in the US with 372 projects (36% of its total development pipeline).
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