Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts (MHR) is having more than 40 hotels and resorts represented at its stand at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) from its core markets such as Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
The ATM is a great platform for Mövenpick in the Middle East to connect and meet with travel and trade visitors from around the world, as well as engage with other businesses in the industry. 'Our exhibition stand will be a convenient scenario for travel agents to build new relationships and discuss business opportunities,' says Toufic Tamim, Mövenpick vice president Sales and Marketing – Middle East & South Asia.'We will be launching our global summer campaign during Arabian Travel Market. The campaign offers up to 30 per cent discount across all our 83 hotels around the globe,' he says.Speaking about expansion plans, Tamim says that MHR is planning to have 45 hotels operating in the Middle East region by 2020. 'We are also very much focused on growing and launching additional hotels in different areas and destinations within the region where we are currently not present,' he says. One of MHR’s main goals is to enter Oman, where it is looking at projects in Muscat, Sohar and Salalah. 'Also, we plan on expanding in Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah and we are also looking at projects in Doha and Lusail in Qatar. 'In addition, we have five properties in the pipeline in Saudi Arabia which are Mövenpick Hotel City Star in Jeddah (opening in 2016), Mövenpick Residences Al Khobar, Mövenpick Hotel Financial District Al Riyadh and the recently announced Mövenpick Hotel Apartments Al Tahlia Jeddah in 2017, and last but not least Mövenpick Hotel Heraa Jeddah in 2018,' says Tamim.Besides Saudi Arabia, MHR is expecting to open two new properties in the UAE – Mövenpick Hotel Apartments Downtown Dubai in 2017 and Mövenpick Hotel Dubai Media City in 2018. The hotel is also opening a new property, Mövenpick Hotel Erbil, in 2017 in Iraq.Tamim says 2015 was one of the group’s most successful years to date. 'We signed 12 new hotels by securing one new hotel management agreement a month and added 4,088 rooms to the inventory in high-growth markets across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. By this, the company grew its portfolio by 15 per cent.' MHR’s 2015 expansion plans saw the firm build on its cluster strategy in South-East Asia with five newly signed properties across Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. In the Middle East and South Asia, the company secured three properties in Riyadh and Jeddah respectively, while in Pakistan, the firm signed an agreement to operate Mövenpick Hotel Centaurus Islamabad. In addition to this, MHR also penned deals for three properties in Africa, two of which are located in affluent areas of Nairobi and Abuja in Nigeria and the other, Mövenpick Hotel & Palais des Congrès in Marrakech. In Europe, where MHR is a dominant player, the company added Mövenpick Stuttgart Airport II to its rapidly expanding portfolio of upscale hotels, he says.On the current market conditions, he says: 'We maintain a long–term positive view for the success of travel and tourism within the region, despite the current challenging conditions in the market.' Many countries in the Middle East are witnessing growth in the Mice (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) sector in addition to hosting global events such as Expo 2020 in Dubai and the FIFA World Cup in 2022 in Qatar. Also the Dubai Health Authority’s initiatives aim to promote medical tourism in Dubai and increase the number of medical tourists to 500,000 a year by 2020. These factors will result in an increased demand for occupancy in these countries, which reflects on the hospitality industry and are aligned with Mövenpick’s expansion strategy. 'Our strategy is to always be ready and embrace change in successful ways by planning, adapting fast and carrying on with a positive outlook,' he says. The company is expanding its e-commerce, content and digital structure and will invest increasingly in web development. MHR has also taken a strategic decision to invest in its commercial set up during difficult trading. This strategy will include the opening of global sales offices in new feeder markets such as the US, China, Australia and South Africa.In addition to this, MHR will be launching new marketing initiatives this year such as the new Mice product and initiatives to grow the meetings and conference segments and a signature family product.Meanwhile MHR’s president and CEO, Jean-Gabriel Pérès, has informed the board of directors recently that he intended to step down from the leadership of Mövenpick Hotel & Resorts after 17 years of effectively contributing to the company’s growth and success. Pérès will continue to serve as president and CEO until his successor assumes leadership. He will support the transition in leadership and will continue to make his extensive experience available to the hotel management company as a member of the board of directors.TTN Staff Report