Gulf Region Boasts 170,000 Hotel Rooms in Active Development Pipeline

25.08.2023 - 14:28 / skift.com / Air Canada / Peden Doma Bhutia / Ras Al-Khaimah / Danielle Curtis

The Gulf region now has more than 170,000 hotel rooms under active development, which includes planning, final planning and under construction, according to research conducted at the end of September by STR, a hotel market intelligence and global benchmarking company. This active hotel development pipeline now equals 40 percent of the Gulf region’s existing hotel room inventory, a figure almost four times greater than the global average of 11 percent. The STR report estimates 135,560 existing rooms in Saudi Arabia with an active pipeline of 82,639 rooms, with total room inventory projected for 2030, at over 218,000 rooms. Similarly for the United Arab Emirates, the research currently tracks more than 202,000 existing rooms with an active pipeline of 48,910 rooms, a combined total of almost 251,000 rooms by 2030. “Interestingly, Ras Al Khaimah, is second only to Dubai, with 5,076 rooms in its pipeline, almost the same amount as Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah combined,” said Danielle Curtis, exhibition director of Arabian Travel Market. The research had been commissioned by Arabian Travel Market.

The United Arab Emirates ranked as the world’s most powerful passport based on mobility and freedom from travel restrictions, according to the latest publication of the Montreal-based financial advisory firm Arton Capital’s Passport Index. Those holding a United Arab Emirates passport are allowed visa-free entry to 121 countries, while 59 countries accord visa on arrival to UAE passport holders. Helping the country reach a “mobility score” of 180. Qatar stands at 46 followed by Kuwait at 48. Saudi Arabia is ranked at 93. United Arab Emirates ranked 15th in the Henley Passport Index for the third quarter of the year. According to Arton Capital, the firm updates its passport index rankings in real time as new visa waivers and changes are implemented, showing the current effects that Covid-19 travel bans and the war in Ukraine have on global mobility right now.

German hospitality management group, Deutsche Hospitality, announced the opening of three new hotels in the Middle East within the last three months — IntercityHotel Muscat, Steigenberger Residence Doha and Al Hamra Village Hotel in Ras Al Khaimah. This takes the group’s total operating portfolio to 26 properties and three Steigenberger Nile cruises across the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. The three new hotels represent an additional 770 operational keys. Within the last 12 months, Deutsche Hospitality has doubled the number of rooms within its regional portfolio, reaching over 1,531 keys in the Middle East.

URB, the Dubai-based master planning, landscape and architectural services company, will be developing the world’s