Each week, Hotel News Now features a news roundup from a different global region. Today’s compilation focuses on Middle East/Africa.
Issues continue to plague Turkey
A failed military coup attempt is the latest in a line of issues Turkey has faced in recent months, reports The New York Times. The country had been plagued by a series of terrorist attacks before the latest unrest emerged.
The Daily Mail reported the latest turmoil in Turkey spurred a wave of travelers to cancel travel plans to the country. Turkey’s tourism industry has been in freefall for months.
2017 expectations mixed in Middle East/Africa
Expectations for hotel performance in 2017 run the gamut across Africa and the Middle East, sources told HNN’s Sean McCracken.
Trevor Ward, owner of W Hospitality Group, said commodity-based economies in Africa will likely struggle in 2017, while more diversified countries could succeed in the coming year.
“If you look at the primary producing countries, the prospects are not that good, quite frankly, because of external events,” Ward said. “The oil price is not forecast to go above $60 in the near future, and when a government relies so much on oil for its income and almost entirely on foreign exchange with nothing else, then you are entirely dependent on oil.”
Some Middle East countries warn against US travel
Unrest within the United States could scare off international travelers from the Middle East, as the Associated Press reports that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have both issued warnings about travel to the U.S.
Bahrain’s advisory warns travelers to be “cautious of protests or crowded areas.”
June pipeline data for MEA
Supply numbers have seen significant jumps for both Africa and the Middle East in year-over-year comparisons of June data from STR, HNN’s parent company.
Projects under contract in the Middle East increased 23.5% to 154,576 rooms in 550 hotels under contract, while Africa saw a 29.1% increase to 55,736 rooms in 289 hotels.
Corporate demand drives Israel
The latest Israel hotel market overview from HVS points out that Israel has seen a drop in travelers to the country due to terrorism concerns, but markets with strong corporate demand remain strong. Tel Aviv in particular has been a strong performer, according to the report, while Jerusalem and the Dead Sea are have fallen along with leisure demand.
Russian travelers have dropped 25% in a year, according to HVS analyst, while visitors from Italy fell 19%.
Deals and development
- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has announced plans for the first two Four Points by Sheraton properties in Tanzania—the 108-room Four Points Sheraton Arusha and the 126-room Four Points by Sheraton Dar es Salaam.
- Carlson Rezidor announced the opening of the 292-room Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Center in Kigali, which marks the first Radisson Blu in Rwanda.
- Three Clarion hotels have opened in Turkey—Clarion Hotel Golden Horn, Clarion Hotel Istanbul Mahmutbey and Clarion Hotel Kahramanmaraþ.
- Eurostars Hotel Company has announced the opening of the 115-room Eurostars Sidi Maarouf in Morocco.
- Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts has signed a deal with Sarah Towers for Real Estate Investment Company to open the Swissôtel Al Maqam, the brands second property in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Compiled by Sean McCracken.