Ed Fuller, president & managing director of International Lodging, Marriott International, said: �Traditional major global source markets like the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan have long relied on their familiarity with global brands to make appropriate travel choices. �Global brands offer more robust distribution channels and services, rewarding guest loyalty programmes, and have the strategic alliances with complementary travel suppliers that make journeying to far off places virtually seamless.�

Ed Fuller

Owners around the region are expected to take a keen interest in the arguments put forth by experts including Gerald Lawless, managing director of Jumeirah International, and Imad Elias, executive vice president for Rotana Hotels. 

Along with Fuller, their counterparts from the major global groups will include Jean-Gabriel Peres, CEO for Movenpick Hotels & Resorts and Kurt Ritter, president and CEO for Rezidor SAS Hospitality.

According to moderator, Jeff Weinstein, editor in chief of HOTELS magazine and HOTELS� Investment Outlook, the trend worldwide is for consolidation and specialisation in the arena of hotel management.

He said: �The global management chains are selling off their hotel assets and focusing on their own area of expertise, which is skilful operations and prudent financial costings.  At the same time, we are seeing more and more hotels grouping together to expand their sales networks to tap new markets.�

In the Gulf, traditionally a strong market for the big hotel names, new management companies such as Jumeirah International and Rotana have altered the shape of the marketplace, and the panel will discuss the arguments for owners to opt for locally based operators or bring in new names, particularly at a time when all the major hotel chains are looking to establish a foothold in such a booming market.

Fuller concluded: �Several years ago, the World Travel & Tourism Council predicted an explosion in global tourism by 2020 as some 20 billion travellers were expected to cross their national borders. This groundswell is already underway and we are feeling the impact of tourists from emerging markets like China, India, Russia and Eastern Europe, through Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

�Thanks to a consumer promise of consistent quality, service and integrity, these new tourists are familiar with a global brand, which increases their comfort and confidence when they venture far from their home base or geographic region.�

A curtain raiser to the Arabian Travel Market, the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference at Madinat Jumeirah conference centre in Dubai is organised by CB Richard Ellis Hotels, the largest commercial real estate firm in the world, and MEED Conferences. Details of AHIC can be found on www.arabianconference.com.

CBRE
Jonathan Worsley
Conference Organiser
Tel: +44 (0) 1483 835794
Email: [email protected]