A Ras Al Khaimah-based hotel chain aims to almost double the number of properties in its portfolio by the end of 2015.
Bin Majid Hotels & Resorts, which currently has five hotels, opened its first and only property outside Ras Al Khaimah so far, a 134-room hotel called Nehal in Abu Dhabi, about a month ago.
In August, it aims to add another hotel in the UAE capital, the 230-room Tower Apartment.
That will be followed by a fifth property in Ras Al Khaimah, the 265-room Santorini hotel on Marjan Island, the first man-made island in the emirate, early next year.
And in 2015 the group intends to open two properties in Dubai, bringing the total of new hotels to four. But it does not intend to stop there.
"After 2015 we are planning to go into the region, in GCC countries. This is our plan," said Ali Kasapbashi, the chief operating officer of Bin Majid. "It's not in our pipeline but this is our vision."
The hotel group currently has a total of about 1,020 rooms. Together, the planned new properties will take the tally to just under 2,000.
"When we planned our expansion we [didn't] want to keep only in Ras Al Khaimah, so our plan is to cover the UAE as much as we can," said Mr Kasapbashi.
Business grew by 12 per cent last year and the group is expecting an increase of about 5 per cent this year. "There's a big potential in this industry and we are seeing a tremendous increase in the number of visitors choosing the UAE as their preferred tourism destination," said Dalal Saadeddine, the chief executive of Bin Majid.
"With the new properties and upcoming ones in the pipeline, we will soon be recognised as a leading hotel and leisure company in the UAE and the region."
Other properties in the group's portfolio include Beach Resort, Beach Hotel, Acacia and Mangrove, which are all in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.
