Emaar Hospitality is planning to open new properties in the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa region this year and next as part of a continued recovery in international tourism from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The hospitality arm of UAE's biggest developer Emaar Properties is eyeing expansion with a new hotel in Bahrain in 2022, followed by openings in Egypt and Saudi Arabia in 2023, Mark Kirby, head of Emaar Hospitality, told a press conference at the Arabian Travel Market on Monday.
In the UAE, it will expand with new properties in Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Dubai Creek Harbour and Fujairah.
Emaar Hospitality recorded occupancy levels of more than 75 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 and expects an "upward trend" for the rest of the year, Mr Kirby said.
Expo 2020 Dubai, the return of business conferences and exhibitions, the continued popularity of staycations, seasonal boosts from Easter holidays and the UAE remaining open as a tourism destination were the key drivers of growth, he told reporters.
"Into May, we're seeing very strong pace and pickup in all of our hotels," Mr Kirby said. "It's really just making sure we now get through the summer and then I think we would have a very solid quarter."
UAE hotels recorded a 24 per cent increase in occupancy rates in the first quarter of 2022, compared to the same period last year, with the increased demand due to the winter holidays and last three months of Expo 2020, a Mena hotels report by Colliers released on Monday found. Dubai and Sharjah posted the highest growth in occupancy of 33 per cent and 30 per cent year-on-year, respectively.
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ATM 2022 day one - in pictures
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The branded hospitality market in the UAE reached 116,330 keys by the end of the first quarter, compared with 106,890 in the same period in 2021, with Dubai being the largest contributor to the new supply, the report said. Around 2,054 branded hotel rooms and suites opened in Dubai during the first three months of the year.
Emaar Hospitality said it will open Palace Fujairah in the coming months as a luxury resort in the emirate. It also has five new openings in Dubai, with Vida Dubai Marina scheduled for the end of 2022 and Vida Dubai Mall set to open in 2023. The Address Grand Creek Harbour is scheduled to open at the end of 2022, followed by the openings of Palace Dubai Creek Harbour and Vida Creek Beach in 2023.
As part of its international expansion, Emaar Hospitality will open the Address Beach Resort Bahrain, adding to its currently operating Vida Marassi al Bahrain.
In Egypt, the openings of Address Marassi Marina and Vida Marassi Marina will follow in 2023.
"With these projects, the group will significantly add to the success of the master-planned lifestyle and tourist potential of Egypt," Emaar Hospitality said in a statement.
Egypt's easing of travel restrictions led to "significant inbound leisure demand" in the first quarter of 2022, positively affecting demand for hospitality products in the country, the Colliers report said. The strengthening of political ties between Egypt and some of its vital source markets such as Europe and the Middle East further supported the recovery of this market, it said.
Overall supply in the Egyptian market is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 1 per cent between 2022 and 2024, with 4,210 keys anticipated to enter the market, Colliers said.
In Saudi Arabia, the opening of Emaar's Address Jabal Omar Makkah near the Grand Mosque is scheduled for 2023 and will offer 1,484 rooms. An Address hotel in Diriyah Gate is planned for 2025, Mr Kirby said.
The Fifa World Cup in Qatar this year is also expected to boost international tourism, Mr Kirby told reporters.
Asked about the effects of the Ukraine war on visitors from Russia, who make up about 3 per cent of the group's total guests and 10 per cent of those hiring its beachfront properties, Mr Kirby said the number of Russian visitors remained stable compared to 2019 but with longer holiday stays.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
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When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories From the North
Edited and Introduced by Sjón and Ted Hodgkinson
Pushkin Press
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Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
