The role of Nakheel’s real estate developments in spawning investment opportunities in the hoteliering industry in the region will be showcased at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AIHC), to be held at Madinat Jumeirah on May 1st and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel on May 2nd, 2005.
Senior Nakheel executives, have already confirmed their participation in the two-day conference organised to discuss the latest trends in the hoteliering industry including, finance trends, construction challenges, environmental challenges, branding opportunities for local and international players and other issues relating to the growth and sustenance of the sector in the Middle East region.
Commenting on the participation, Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, Nakheel, said: “The tourism industry has evolved in the past decade to be one of the most strategic sectors in the Middle East with the region figuring prominently in the itineraries of travellers from Europe and North America. Dubai was the first in the region to understand the synergy between tourism and real estate and in the process, envisioned and built iconic properties such as The World, The Palm and Dubai Waterfront Company that serve residential, commercial and some of the most innovative tourist destinations.”
“AIHC gives Nakheel the right platform to outlay our vision for the hotel industry in the Middle East region, and of the various investment options in the sector,” added Bin Sulayem.
The tourism industry in Dubai is flourishing due to the implementation of a well envisioned strategy and key infrastructure developments undertaken by the Emirate. The government has invested substantial sums in the tourism sector and is targeting at a tourist inflow of 15 million by 2010 rising from of 5.5 million in 2004. Recent statistics show that approximately 4,724,543 guests stayed in 276 hotels in Dubai last year, generating UAE Dirhams 5.6 billion in revenues. Hotel occupancy rates were around 82 per cent, one of the highest in the world. The hotel and hospitality sector is poised for unprecedented growth in the coming decade as the Government of Dubai is well on its way to achieve the strategic goal to increase the number of visitors to the Emirates.
Senior Nakheel functionaries have been invited to speak at the two-day conference. Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, Nakheel, is delivering the welcome address at the conference titled “The Window of Opportunity for New Investment in the Middle East”.
James Wilson, CEO, Nakheel and Dubai Waterfront Company, will participate in a panel session discussion on the industry trends shaping the market place and the role of international operators and developers. Robert Lee, Director Development, Dubai Waterfront, on the other hand will speak on the opportunities for hoteliers in mixed-use developments like Dubai Waterfront. Mounir Hayder, Head of Technical & Engineering at Nakheel is taking part in a focussed panel discussion on the hotelier sector in Dubai, the challenges and opportunities facing the sector and the prospects for entrepreneurs.
Nakheel will be hosting a reception for all delegates at ‘Greenland’, one of the islands on Nakheel’s iconic developments, ‘The World’. This boat trip hosted by Nakheel for the conference delegates to “The World” development will be welcomed with a cocktail reception and Delegates will be able to have a first hand experience of this enormous development and will be entertained in true Arabic tradition and hospitality. Nakheel will update the delegates on the occasion, about the status of Nakheel’s various iconic offshore projects and will present the Dubai Waterfront video to the delegates.
AIHC is organised by MEED (Middle East Economic Digest) and CBRE (CB Richard Ellis) and will see the participation of some of the key experts and industry leaders in real estate development, engineering, tourism, hotelier and hospitality industry from Europe, the Americas and the Middle East.
