Rotana Hotels & Resorts is pressing forward with an inspired growth plan with 14 new properties across the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman, Iran, Iraq and Tanzania.

The new openings will take place in the coming year, bringing Rotana’s hotel portfolio to 71 by the end of 2018, enforcing the group’s vision of operating 100 hotels by 2020.

Rotana, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has also just released year-on-year figures showing that UK room nights at Rotana properties in Abu Dhabi grew by 6.9 per cent between 2016 and 2017.

During the same period Rotana also increased its percentage share of UK visitor room nights compared to the city from 20.9 per cent to 21.4 per cent.

Further percentage increases are predicted over the coming year as Abu Dhabi welcomes the five-star Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas by end of 2017 and two further hotels.

Similarly, in Dubai, UK room nights at Rotana properties increased between 2016 and 2017 by 4.6 per cent.

This number is also expected to rise by the end of 2018 due to the opening of three new Rotana hotels in Dubai, including the modern Al Bandar Rotana and Al Bandar Arjaan by Rotana by quarter four, 2017.

Omer Kaddouri, president, Rotana, commented: “2017 has been a tremendous year as we celebrated our 25th anniversary, along with great successes in the UAE and across the globe.

“Drawing on our past has enabled us to map out our future and lay the ground work for our forthcoming investments; the opening of 14 new properties.”

He added: “The opportunities available in the UAE continue to grow, which is why our portfolio there will expand by 20 per cent over the next year with six new hotels in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai by 2018.

“These new properties will be perfectly suited to our global travellers, in particular UK leisure and business travellers, due to their luxury facilities and world-class service.

“Our additional focus area includes Tanzania, where we will be opening our first ever property in Dar Es Salaam.

“We are looking forward to welcoming visitors to our elevated hospitality offering in this destination.

“Looking beyond 2018, we have an incredibly strong pipeline of expansion, with 48 properties under various stages of development.

“To date, we have hosted more than 225 million guests at our hotels around the world and we’re excited to welcome many more over the next 25 years.”

More Information

Breaking Travel News caught up with Rotana chief Omer Kaddouri at World Travel Market. Take a look at what he had to say below: