Next year to be Doha’s busiest year in hotel opening

Posted in Business, News on 31 August, 2016

The year 2017 is forecast to be Doha’s busiest year in terms of the opening of new hotels and properties. According to a latest report, over 40 hotel projects and more than 11,000 rooms are in the pipeline, which are expected to be added in the Qatar’s hospitality sector very soon.

The report titled ‘The Doha Hotel Construction Overview’, prepared by ‘Top Hotel Projects’ exclusively for the upcoming ‘The Hotel Show Dubai 2016’, reveals that Doha is the third busiest city in the Middle East and Africa for hotel construction, behind only Dubai (133 projects) and Riyadh (47 projects).

Doha’s busiest year for hotel openings is forecast to be 2017 with 14 new properties entering the market, including Pullman Doha West Bay (468 rooms), JW Marriott West Bay (297 rooms), Hilton Garden Inn Doha Al Sadd (225 rooms), and Millennium Plaza Doha (232 rooms).

Francois Kassab, Chief Operating Officer, Millennium & Copthorne Middle East & Africa, behind the Millennium Plaza Doha development opening early 2017, said: “We currently have three properties in Doha and believe the city has great potential to grow its hospitality sector.”

“According to the Qatar Tourism Authority, three million people visited Qatar in 2015, and they are aiming to attract four million tourists per year by 2020,” Kassab added. “The plans are part of the country’s efforts to boost tourism sector’s contribution to GDP over the next decade, supported by $40-45bn worth of investment under its National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030.”

He further added that Qatar is working to position itself as a world-class hub with deep cultural roots, by creating a high profile product that will appeal to all market segments from cultural tourists and families to sports fans and business travellers.

“We are confident that by offering a range of different brands – Millennium, Millennium Plaza, Copthorne and Kingsgate – we can cater towards these different market segments.”

The five-star Millennium Plaza Doha will open as part of the new Barwa Al Sadd development.

Kassab said: “Barwa Al Sadd is set to be an exciting new addition to the city for both visitors and residents. Millennium Plaza Doha will be the only hotel within the development, offering an ideal base for business and leisure trips as well as for residents looking for a central location for business meetings, dining or celebrations.”