We continue our countdown of the most powerful hoteliers in the Middle East with numbers 40 to 31.
The full list was revealed exclusively to the attendees of the Hotelier Great GM Debate yesterday at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
It was well received, but do you agree? Enjoy reading.
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40
Ulrich T. Eckhardt
President Middle East and Africa, Kempinski Hotels
Ulrich T. Eckhardt oversees the 15 Kempinski Hotels currently operating in the region, including the world-famous Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi and Kempinski Hotel Ajman, a hotel which he not only launched in 1998 but also continues to manage despite his regional promotion.
Over the past year, the company has opened two hotels — the Kempinski Residence and Suites – Doha and Kempinski Nile Hotel in Cairo — and is expected to unveil the Kempinski Residence and Suites Palm Jumeirah by the end of the year.
There have been some setbacks, with Eckhardt revealing earlier this year that three properties in Damascus, Syria, a hotel in Marrakech, Morocco and a hotel in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt have all been cancelled.
However, he said Syria, the Levant and Morocco remained markets of major interest and two further properties have since been signed, the Kempinski Hotel Saba Saba in Ariusha and Kempinski Hotel Royal Maxim in Cairo.
Responsible now for leading Kempinski’s expansion in the Middle East, Eckhardt plans to more than double the portfolio to 30 hotels by the end of 2012.
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