Rotana Announces 10 New Hotels In The Middle East

UAE hotel operator Rotana has announced the launch of ten new hotels in the Middle East by 2020.

Five hotels will open in Dubai including a 280 room development located in the busy Creek district, a 163 room development in Al Barsha and a 528 room property under the Arjaan Hotel Apartments by Rotana brand to be located in the Wafi area.

The addition of these projects will bring the total number of hotels in Dubai to twenty and the total number of Rotana rooms in the emirate to 13,518.

“Dubai continues to be a focus market for us and with Expo 2020 expected to further boost an already strong hospitality market, we plan on widening our footprint in the emirate. The new hotels will enable us to strengthen our market share in high demand areas,” said Omer Kaddouri, president and CEO of Rotana.

The hotel operator has also announced plans to enter the Iranian market with four properties, all of which will be opened under the company’s alcohol-free brand Rayhaan Hotels Resorts by Rotana.

The first two hotels are set to open in the city of Mashhad and will consist of a 362 room development, to be completed in 2017 and a 275 room hotel to be completed in 2018. The city of Tehran will see the opening of two further Rayhaan Properties, set for a 2018 opening, which will include a 194 room five star property and a four star hotel consisting of 210 rooms.

Rotana will also open its second property in the Sudanese capital, following the Al Salam Rotana property in Khartoum. The hotel will open its doors by 2019 and have 221 rooms.

While a 249-room project is also planned for the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam.

“The opening of these new hotels in these four markets falls in line with our strategic goal to operate 100 hotels by 2020. These are in addition to the properties announced earlier which will open in Turkey, Erbil, Jordan and Qatar.

“Iran’s tourism industry is bouncing back, highlighting the tremendous potential it has within the hospitality sector. Considering the increasing international interest in Iran, we are anticipating an excellent response for our four debut projects in the country,” added Kaddouri.