Tag Archives: KSA

According to musafir.com, this summer around 50% of UAE residents are focusing on leisure holidays, while 25% are considering combining leisure travels with a visit to their home country, and 25% will be visiting their home countries. Despite the summer being a time when residents often visit their home countries, it does not deter them from planning leisure trips this year. Many individuals are also opting for two breaks: a short one for the upcoming Eid Al-Adha break at the end of June, followed by a longer one in July or August. There has been a significant increase in the demand for group tours and holiday packages during the upcoming Eid Al-Adha holidays. Compared to the Eid-Al-Fitr break, demand has risen by 47%, and it has surged by 35% compared to last year’s Eid-Al-Adha. This year, with Eid Al-Adha and the school summer holidays coinciding, more people are planning longer vacations. Leisure travelers prefer group departures due to well-designed itineraries, value-for-money deals, direct flights, visa assistance, and hassle-free booking. Taking advantage of their annual leave, people combine these long breaks to enjoy extended vacations. When it comes to exploring new places, travelers prefer visa-hassle-free destinations such as Kenya, Thailand, Singapore, and countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) like Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Another emerging trend is the preference for combo deals, where neighbouring countries or different locations within the same country can be visited together. Popular choices include Singapore-Malaysia, Bangkok-Pattaya, Switzerland-Paris or Italy, and Georgia-Armenia or Azerbaijan. Raheesh Babu, COO of Musafir.com said, “There is a significant increase in travel inquiries for European countries, with an expected 30% of leisure travelers heading to Europe. Switzerland, France, …

Hilton announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) towards exploring cooperation opportunities between the two entities and developing creative content, with the aim of attracting visitors from key markets across the Middle East and Africa to the Kingdom. Signing this MoU comes as part of the STA’s ongoing commitment and efforts to forge strong partnerships with key players in Saudi Arabia’s tourism ecosystem, working closely with these partners to promote destinations in the Kingdom and provide inspiring tourism experiences. This most recent partnership also highlights Hilton’s presence and growth in Saudi Arabia, where it currently operates 16 hotels – with another 51 in the pipeline and plans to grow its portfolio to more 75 hotels in the coming years. “We are very excited to sign this agreement, which comes in alignment with Hilton’s longstanding relationship with the Saudi Tourism Authority over the years and is a reiteration of our commitment towards the tourism sector in the Kingdom,” Ajami said. “Through this partnership, we aim to attract travellers from the Middle East and Africa who are looking to explore the Kingdom’s diverse tourism offerings while staying with a global hospitality brand they know and trust.” “This Memorandum of Understanding with global hospitality leader, Hilton, aligns with our strategy to partner with key international brands and corporations that are working in alignment with our vision, attracting new segments of regional tourists and helping us achieve our 2030 objectives,” said Abdulkarim Al-Darwish, CEO of the Middle East and African Markets, STA. Hilton’s portfolio in the Kingdom includes iconic properties such as the Waldorf Astoria Jeddah – Qasr al Sharq, Conrad Makkah, Jeddah Hilton and Hilton …

IHG® Hotels & Resorts signed a Master Development Agreement (MDA) with Tashyid for Hotel Operations, which will see the development of 12 hotels and 2,500 keys under the Holiday Inn Express brand across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With Ministry of Tourism encouraging such investments in the Kingdom, the signing took place in the presence Mr. Mahmoud Abdulhadi, Deputy Minister for Destination Enablement. The agreement will allow IHG to expand and diversify its mainstream offering across Saudi Arabia, in line with the demand being created by initiatives under Saudi Vision 2030. As a world-renowned brand, Holiday Inn Express champions simple, smart travel by providing a launch pad for guests to make their connection and is highly suitable and well-positioned for new-age smart travellers visiting Saudi Arabia across business, leisure, and meetings segments, including Saudi’s biggest and growing demographic of millennials and Generation Z travellers. As part of the agreement, IHG has also signed the first Holiday Inn Express hotel with Tashyid for Hotels Operations Limited which will debut the brand in Jeddah by June 2025. Marking a key milestone for the brand in the Kingdom, the 300-room hotel will be located on Al Madinah Road, one of the busiest areas in the city. Providing a best-in-class experience, guest rooms at Holiday Inn Express Jeddah will feature amenities such as high-speed WiFi, smart TVs, premium bedding, and pillow options to ensure guests have a restful stay. The hotel will also offer signature complimentary ‘Express Start Breakfast’, speedy check-in, and power showers to ensure guests are recharged for the day. Known for its success in the upper-midscale segment and understanding of the ‘Next Gen Smart traveller’, Holiday Inn Express hotels in Saudi …

Wego announced its partnership with flyadeal to offer its users the chance to directly book flights on flyadeal through its platform. The new partnership includes all flyadeal flights to Wego’s marketplace where users can book directly with the airline. Wego is looking to provide its users with a wider choice of airlines to book from, by adding such a renowned airline to its portfolio. Con Korfiatis, flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are delighted to partner with Wego, the biggest and renowned online travel marketplace in the MENA region. This collaboration will allow our customers to directly book flyadeal’s wide choice and growing number of flights through Wego’s platform, giving us the opportunity to distribute our products to a bigger audience, and showcase our competitive everyday fares. This partnership will further enhance our customers’ travel experience and help us to better serve them.” Additionally, Wego’s users will benefit from flyadeal fares which will be promoted across all Wego’s marketing channels and will be able to search and book the most competitive deals online. Ross Veitch, CEO and Co-founder of Wego, said: “As the largest online travel marketplace in MENA we are delighted to announce our partnership with flyadeal, the fastest growing airline in KSA. We look forward to offering flyadeal’s attractively priced fares to Wego’s audience both in The Kingdom and also across our regional points of sale as flyadeal opens new international routes.” MENA is a key market for Wego, and always tops the searches from this region. flyadeal, one of the youngest and fastest growing low-cost airlines in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Middle East, continues its expansion to the region. flyadeal currently operates scheduled flights to 17 …

Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Development Fund (TDF) announced the signing of a financing agreement with Shada Real Estate Development and Investment Company. The agreement is to establish a 4-star boutique hotel featuring 110 hotel rooms in Jeddah, one of the targeted tourist destinations. The hotel will be designed with a mix of the architectural styles of Makkah region and the local style. The announcement of this agreement coincided with the Future Hospitality Summit – FHIS – held in Riyadh from May 7 to May 9, 2023, which witnessed the presence of a large number of government dignitaries and officials of the tourism and hospitality industry, as well as a group of prominent developers, investors, hotel owners and operators, to discuss the prospects of growth and development of the tourism and hospitality sector in the Kingdom. The hotel will be characterised by its design, inspired by the local style mixed with architectural touches specific to the Makkah region. Shada Development and Real Estate Investment aims to revive, preserve and highlight the essence of the cultures of the various regions in the Kingdom, especially the architectural cultural heritage of the city of Jeddah. TDF’s agreement with Shada Hotels will contribute to the growth of the Kingdom’s economy and achieve the goals set out within the National Tourism Strategy. Qusai bin Abdullah Al-Fakhri, CEO of the Tourism Development Fund, said: “TDF’s purpose is to be the main enabler for investors, in order to serve the objectives of the National Tourism Strategy. This agreement with our partner Shada Company is one of the ways in which the Fund is helping to activate tourism destinations in the Kingdom, which will contribute to supporting investment and motivating …

Rua Al Madinah Holding company signed an agreement with Accor for the operation of multiple premium and luxury hotels within Rua Al Madinah Project, which is currently underway, at the area just east of the Prophet Mosque in Madinah. Under the terms of the agreement, Accor will operate three hotels which would add over 1,000 hospitality units to the city of Madinah, which include 142-keys Fairmont and 120-keys Fairmont residence, in addition to 466-keys Swissôtel hotel and 328-keys Novotel hotel. “We are delighted to partner with a leading hospitality group that’s known in the world over for its bespoke and inimitable style,” said Al Juhani, Rua Al Madinah Holding Company CEO. “The three new brands will enhance the appeal of the project’s master plan and help us offer a broad selection of hospitality options to the city’s visitors, providing something for everyone that meets their need and budget and enrich their experience.” Rua Al Madinah Holding aims to enrich the experience of all visitors to Madinah and contribute to the achievement of Vision 2030’s goals of raising the holy city’s hospitality capacity to be able to accommodate 30 million visitors by the year 2030. The signing took place on the sidelines of Future Hospitality Summit, in Riyadh from 7-9 May. The agreement was signed by Ahmed Al Juhani, Chief Executive Officer of Rua Al Madinah Holding company, and Duncan O’Rourke, Accor’s CEO for the Premium, Midscale, and Economy Division for Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. As one of the world’s largest hospitality groups, Accor operates more than 5,300 properties in over 110 countries.

Dur Hospitality has announced signing a partnership agreement with Smart Zone Real Estate Company. The agreement aims to set up a Limited Liability Company (The Project Company) to construct and operate an innovative hotel in Riyadh. As per the agreement, The Project Company will develop and operate the first full-fledged smart hotel in the Kingdom. The Project Company’s capital will be contributed according to the ownership percentage of each party. Commenting on this milestone, Mr. Feras Albanyan CEO of AQALAT stated: “We are excited to partner on this project with Dur Hospitality, one of the leading national companies in hotel development and operation in the Kingdom.” For his part, Dur Hospitality CEO Mr. Sultan Al-Otaibi stated, “Dur has diligently worked on the studies required to set up The Project Company which will embody Dur’s strategic expansion roadmap and its role in the Saudi hospitality’s digital transformation journey. The hotel will embrace next-generation technologies with ultra-modern digital designs, in line with the top international standards. This JV supports Dur Hospitality’s direction to expand strategic partnerships with leading institutions in the Kingdom to develop top-notch hotels and increase the contribution of the tourism sector to the Kingdom’s GDP, in line with Saudi Vision 2030. Dur is very happy to join hands with Smart Zone Real Estate Company to develop this outstanding project.” The two parties signed an MOU in October 2022, followed by the preparatory studies for the establishment of The Project Company to develop and operate a state-of-the-art hotel in the Kingdom.

Accor plans to open three properties in the upcoming project by Rua Al Madinah Holding Company in Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The project includes a 142-key Fairmont hotel and 120 Fairmont branded residences, in addition to a 466-key Swissôtel and a 328-key Novotel. The Group is collaborating with Rua Al Madinah Holding Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). The company undertakes holistic development projects that feature modern urban planning to elevate the experience for visitors from around the world and enhance the quality of life for the residents of Madinah. Rua Al Madinah project is aimed at transforming the city into a modern Islamic and cultural destination. Rua Al Madinah Project’s master plan covers over 1.5 million square meters of space with direct views of Al Masjid al Nabawi, known as the Prophet’s Mosque, and will include 47,000 hotel rooms, with the master plan constituting 63% of open spaces and 37% of built area. The project has been designed according to the highest international standards and offers many integrated transportation solutions, including nine bus stops for visitors and underground parking. Duncan O’Rourke, CEO Middle East, Africa, Turkey & Asia-Pacific for Premium, Midscale & Economy brands at Accor mentioned: “We are very proud to sign the first Swissôtel property and strengthen our Novotel offering in the Holy city of Madinah. Through these signings our primary goal is to support the diverse offering at the master development of Rua Al Madinah, while continuing a long-term relationship with PIF and accordingly Rua Al Madinah Holding Company.” Since the announcement of the Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, Accor has played a key role in the development of tourism, …

Accor signed a master development agreement with Amsa Hospitality, the Saudi startup company redefining Arabian hospitality in both local and international markets, to develop and franchise 18 hotels across second-tier cities within Saudi Arabia over the next ten years. The agreement will see Amsa Hospitality, the Hallmark of Arabian Hospitality, develop a range of Accor’s economy and midscale brands, including ibis Styles, Mercure, Mercure Living, Novotel, Novotel Living, and the recently launched Handwritten Collection, while also acting as the third-party operator by leasing and franchising the assets. Speaking at a press conference at Arabian Travel Market, Mohammad Alathel, Amsa Hospitality’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Amsa Hospitality is committed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 success, a vision that set the path for our development locally, regionally and globally. “As such, we are attached to the Kingdom’s ambitious plan for the development of the country’s second-tier cities. Such an enterprising strategy must be accompanied by quality hospitality, offering the best international standards. “Committed as we are, we believe that Accor is the finest hospitality company to deliver the high level of guaranteed quality we are looking for, together with their wide choice of brands, giving us the ability to propose the optimum hospitality regarding each city environment. “This long-term partnership between Amsa Hospitality and Accor will bring first-rate modern hospitality – a know-how Accor is renowned for – together with Amsa Hospitality’s commitment to bringing centuries-old Arabian traditions of welcoming and generosity to today’s world, true to our ‘Hallmark of Arabian Hospitality’ motto.” As part of the agreement, Amsa Hospitality will be responsible for hotels in several cities in Saudi Arabia, including Ha’il, Jubail, Taif, Al-Ula, Tabuk and Jazan, …

Knight Frank Middle East announced a collaboration with Pan Kingdom Holding Saudi Arabia to focus on Asset Management Project for a newly constructed 2,000 room hotel in Makkah. Turab Saleem, Partner & Head of Hospitality at Knight Frank MENA, expressed excitement for the collaboration, stating that with 20 years of Asset Management experience in the region, Knight Frank Middle East is eager to contribute to the success of the project. The collaboration will see Knight Frank not only overseeing the hotel project but also providing expertise in brand development and business planning for Pan Kingdom’s growing hospitality portfolio. The partnership aims to cultivate new hotel assets in the Kingdom in alignment with the 2030 vision.