A WINDOW TO THE WORLD

DIRIYAH, THE CITY OF EARTH OPENS IN SAUDI ARABIA

Art

& Tested • Sustainable Traveller

22 ASCENDING ORDER

Maud Bailly, CEO of So tel, So tel Legend, MGallery and Emblems, on plans for this region

26 BRANDING LUXURY e Aman Group CEO reveals details of three upcoming properties in Saudi Arabia

38 NEW AND UPCOMING LONDON HOTELS

From historic conversions to art-inspired properties, there are plenty of new choices the next time you visit this capital city

46 COLOUR PALETTES

Highlights from the recently concluded 16th edition of Art Dubai

50 THE MECHANICS OF TIME

Zenith CEO Julien

Tornare unveils the brand’s novelties for 2023

OPEN TO THE WORLD

Diriyah, e City of Earth has become among the rst Saudi giga projects to welcome the public

Everything Everywhere All At Once. It is the name of one of the biggest winners at this year’s Oscars, but can also be used to aptly describe the lightning speed with which Saudi Arabia is developing itself. ere are plenty of examples, from an all-new six-runway airport coming up in the capital – the King Salman International Airport – and the New Murabba project which aims to create the world’s largest modern downtown in Riyadh, to the country’s Red Sea development which will welcome its rst guests during the next few weeks and the futuristic smart city of e Line in NEOM where construction is already underway. Saudi has committed US$550 billion to build new destinations by 2030. One of the projects that we’re very keenly following is Diriyah, e City of Earth in Riyadh. You might remember us having covered it on our pages last September. At the time, Business Traveller was one of the rst media to visit the under-construction mega mixed-use project. is month, we bring you up to speed with all that has happened since then at Diriyah (pg16) which is being built with an investment pipeline of

THIS ISSUE’S PICKS

US$63.2 billion and which opened the rst assets of its Bujairi Terrace dining district and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of At-Turaif to the public towards the end of last year.

Further on in the magazine, Maud Bailly, the CEO of So tel, So tel Legend, MGallery and Emblems outlines her plans (pg22) for the Middle East in general and Saudi Arabia in speci c – a country which she calls “the new El Dorado”. Her bullish sentiment about the kingdom’s potential is reinforced in our exclusive interview with Vladislav Doronin, the CEO of Aman Group (pg26), who con rms that the hospitality major’s rst three properties in the Middle East will open in Saudi Arabia.

Finally, as we get ready to participate in the 30th edition of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, take the time to read our “purposeful business travel” column (pg37) and also learn about the in-built resilience mechanisms in the global business travel community (pg34) that have put it on a path of growth despite setbacks over the last three years.

Enjoy the issue.

Business Traveller Middle East is jointly published by Motivate Media Group and Panacea Media Ltd

MOTIVATE MEDIA GROUP

Editor-in-Chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer

Managing Partner and Group Editor Ian Fairservice

Editor Varun Godinho

Art Director Clarkwin Cruz

Editorial Co-ordinator Londresa Flores

Contributors Hannah Brandler, Mark Caswell, Akanksha Maker, Zainab Mansoor, Amy Sessions

General Manager – Production S Sunil Kumar

Production Manager Binu Purandaran

Production Supervisor Venita Pinto

Chief Commercial Officer Anthony Milne

Group Sales Manager Chaitali Khimji

Senior Sales Manager Murali Narayanan

PANACEA MEDIA LTD

Managing Director Julian Gregory

Associate Publisher Middle East Rania Apthorpe businesstraveller.com

LONDON HOTELS

New and upcoming properties in the capital city (Page 38)

COLOUR PALETTES

Highlights from the 16th edition of Art Dubai (Page 46)

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CEO Julien Tornare introduces the 2023 novelties (Page 50)

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