The Brief / Q&A INTERVIEW
Haitham Mattar Managing director for India, Middle East and Africa, IHG Hotels & Resorts
Explainer: Has the UAE’s hospitality sector recovered from the pandemic?
The hospitality sector is one small part of the Expo ecosystem but the event is fueling medium- and long-term growth within the sector
ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES/ WESTEND61
Across the sector, we are getting Expo ready, launching services, repurposing facilities and catering to different tastes and palettes. At IHG Hotels, we are creating Expo 2020 passports for kids and organising specialised amenities and food menus that cater to all nationalities. Have guest expectations changed for the longer-term?
The Covid-19 pandemic has marked the most difficult period in the hospitality industry’s history, with significant social and economic disruption, and has also led to changes in consumer behaviour. Our guests still value and cherish our services and tailored experiences, but at the same time, we are seeing renewed emphasis on health, wellness as well as a flexibility in cancellation terms and conditions. Has the UAE hospitality sector bounced back from the pandemic?
Looking ahead, where do you see greater demand in the GCC – luxury or midscale?
The UAE continues to dominate the Middle Eastern travel market with its supply and bookings across all travel segments, and this will continue to see aggressive growth as Expo 2020 opens in October. After the challenging times of the pandemic, the Expo is a welcome opportunity for those of us in the hospitality industry, and we are already seeing the benefits of this event in the wider economy. This is encouraging after so many months of hardship.
The Middle East, long viewed as a travel destination synonymous with luxury, is specifically positioned to ride a rising tide of recovery in the luxury travel and tourism sector, owing to the rebound in air passenger traffic in 2021 and the strength of the existing demand for domestic style ‘staycations’. The pandemic may have affected the travel and tourism industry worldwide, but the sector is also one of the few that has the potential to recover quickly. Millions of people around the globe have set luxury travel as a near-term goal and with many Middle Eastern countries opening up to tourists, it’s fast becoming one of the few safe luxury travel destinations around the world. Having said that, the market is diversifying as the region promotes itself to a wider base of travellers and new source markets. This has resulted in an upturn in demand across different segments of accommodation including midscale, upscale and luxury hotels. There is also the rise of alternate types of branded accommodation such as micro hotels and design-led lifestyle hotels that provide guests with unique experiences.
How much of an impact will Expo 2020 have on the sector?
The Expo is a huge opportunity for us, and especially a welcome event after the difficult months of 2020. There is a renewed optimism around the event, which in turn is spurring more growth across the UAE economy. The hospitality sector is one small part of the Expo ecosystem but the event is fueling medium- and longterm growth within the sector. According to the latest forecast from the hospitality-industry data provider STR, Dubai hotel occupancy will rise by an astonishing 77 per cent year-on-year in Q4, with revenue per available room rising by an even stronger 86 per cent. Room supply is also expected to grow by 3.6 per cent year-on-year in Q4. The uplift that the event provides will resonate across the UAE, with hotel occupancy expected to rise in Abu Dhabi as well as Dubai. 10
October 2021
Dubai hotel occupancy
expected year-onyear rise in Q4
77%
How can operators ensure they remain competitive – especially with the rise of Airbnb and other such platforms?
There is space within the sector for traditional gulfbusiness.com
