“The steady growth of tourism in Kuwait, with a vision to welcome 440,000 visitors annually by 2024, is fueling demand for quality hotels,” agrees Laurent Voivenel, Swiss-Belhotel’s senior vice president (SVP) of operations and development for the Middle East, Africa, and India. “The government is making huge investments in enhancing tourism infrastructure, as well as developing new leisure and lifestyle attractions. It is the perfect time for us to enter Kuwait — the country is evolving into a multi-faceted destination with the development of diverse attractions for both corporate and leisure visitors.”
The hotel development scene doesn’t look to be slowing anytime soon. This summer, InterContinental Hotel Group and Kuwaiti business conglomerate Bukhamseen Group, announced an exclusive agreement for the latter to build and operate IHG hotels exclusively in the state of Kuwait. The agreement will see IHG expand its brand portfolio and hotel footprint across the market. IHG currently operates three hotels in Kuwait in partnership with Bukhamseen Group — Crowne Plaza Al Thuraya City, Holiday Inn Al Thuraya City, and Holiday Inn Salmiya.
IHG’s chief operations officer (COO) for Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, Alan Watts, said in a statement that the deal would allow it to continue its endeavour to “deliver great guest experiences” to those visiting Kuwait for either business or leisure.
While heavy investment into developing the country’s backdrop continues, however, and hotel developers responding by bringing more hotels online, the question is whether existing players are worried about the stiffening competition.
Voivenel asserts: “Competition is always good, and is a key driver for higher levels of innovation, service, and quality, which in turn boost the market.”
And it’s not just the leisure tourists that hoteliers need to be impressing. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, 60-70% of the country’s tourism demand comes from business travellers, mainly driven by the government sector, and this customer base is becoming far more discerning when it comes to quality and value in a hotel offering.
Four Season’s Jardin says that while convenience and efficiency are a priority of their stay, business travellers are also seeking out luxury. To address this need, he says, the Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya echoes its surroundings with art and architecture that takes inspiration from the local cultural traditions, offering even its short-stay business travellers an element of luxury.
Pascal Gauvin, COO IMEA at IHG, points out that a unique selling point of its portfolio of hotels is that each brand is somewhat customised to cater to a different need. Talking specifically about its business clients, Gauvin says: “Our Crowne Plaza brand recognises the needs of business travellers to have the highest productivity, business-ready spaces [accessible] 24/7 in order to stay connected with their associates around the world. The Crowne Plaza properties, therefore, offer tailored products and services that help today’s business travellers work, rest and get energised.”
Hoteliers in Kuwait do appear confident in their offering and, as a result, seem unfazed by what they believe is a short-term dip in ARR and RevPAR decline. The overriding belief among most of the industry is that it needs to be putting the wheels in motion today for the surge of visitors Kuwait anticipates will arrive in the future. The World Travel and Tourism Council says that travel and tourism investment in Kuwait is set to grow by 1.5% per annum over the next 10 years, to US $445m annually in 2027.
Announcing the launch of its first InterContinental-branded property, the InterContinental Kuwait Downtown, IHG’s Gauvin says the group is looking forward to increasing its growth momentum in the country.
“This progression translates into increased opportunities for the hospitality sector, and we see immense potential in the market for us to continue expanding our footprint.”
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