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Rotana makes Nigeria debut

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Spreading the word in London ... Rotana’s campaign

Rotana recently signed its first property in the West African country of Nigeria under the brand Centro. Located in Lagos, the country’s largest city, the 200-key hotel and serviced apartments was launched in partnership with Topwide Ventures Limited.

Nigeria is fondly called the ‘Giant of Africa’ for its large economy and population and is projected to be the fastest-growing hospitality market in the continent over the next five years, with 22.6 per cent compound annual gain.

According to a 2012 report released by Citibank and global property firm Knight Frank, Nigeria is expected to have the highest average GDP growth in the world between 2010 and 2050.


Out of Africa

Rotana’s foray into Nigeria furthers the group’s strategic expansion plans in the African market and adds to its existing portfolio in the continent, which includes properties in Khartoum, capital city of Sudan, and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.

Rotana has an impressive pipeline in the continent. It is developing a hotel apartment project in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a five-star hotel and serviced apartments in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and a five-star hotel in Mauritania located.

'Despite being home to a flourishing hospitality industry, Lagos has the highest average rates on hotel accommodation in Africa. Centro Lagos fills this major gap in the industry and heralds a potential paradigm shift in the city’s hospitality scene,' says Omer Kaddouri, president and chief executive of Rotana.

'Africa is a vastly underserved market with huge potential for growth, and Rotana is very keen to expand its pipeline in the continent. The African region will remain a focus market for Rotana in the years to come as we move towards our goal of operating 100 hotels by 2020.'

With the launch of the Centro, Rotana is expecting to benefit from the rising demand for affordable hotels in Lagos, while capitalising on the continued strong economic activity across Nigeria.


UK focus

In an attempt to tap into outbound British travellers and promote the Rotana brands in the UK market, a key tourist feeder market to the UAE, Rotana is stepping up its marketing activities in London.

'The UAE continues to climb up the popularity charts for tourists from the UK who account for a growing share of total visitor arrivals in the Emirates and who have been assuming greater prominence within the region’s evolving travel and tourism landscape,' says Kaddouri. 'The UK also happens to be one of the top source markets for Rotana, with tourist inflow from the country making up as much as 19 per cent of our business, and in 2014 we welcomed more than 500,000 guests from the UK.'

The year-long campaign will see Rotana reach out to key target audiences throughout London and beyond through the city-wide deployment of a fleet of London’s famous black taxis and red buses, each decked out with the Rotana name and logo. Building on the success of a similar initiative undertaken in 2014, the liveried fleet will feature over 100 cars, double last year’s tally.

Rotana representatives may be found at stand number HC6720.


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Regional openings this year

The development pipeline in the region includes the following Rotana-managed properties.
Opening Q2, 2015: Burgu Arjaan by Rotana, Dalga Residences by Rotana and Tango Arjaan by Rotana, all three in Istanbul, Turkey; and City Centre Rotana, Doha, Qatar.
Opening Q3, 2015: Downtown Rotana, Bahrain, Centro Doha, Qatar and Capital Centre Arjaan by Rotana, Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
Opening Q4, 2015: Capital Centre Rotana, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Kinshasa Arjaan by Rotana, Democratic Republic of Congo; and Rosh Rayhaan by Rotana, Centro Shaheen in Jeddah, and Centro Waha in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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