Emaar Hospitality strikes deal to promote hotels portfolio in China

The agreement with Youli Hospitality Consulting in China aims to drive guests to Emaar hotels

The Address hotel, Dubai, next to Dubai Shopping Mall and Souk Al Bahar. Getty Images

Emaar Hospitality, the hotels and leisure business of the UAE’s biggest developer Emaar Properties, signed a deal to promote and market its portfolio of luxury hotels in China as it seeks to expand its global outreach.

The company formed a sales and marketing partnership with Youli Hospitality Consulting in China, one of the leading promotion and representation companies in the world’s second biggest economy and one of the fastest growing tourism markets, Emaar said in a statement on Monday.

Youli Consulting, under the deal, will promote Emaar Hospitality’s Address Hotels + Resorts and upscale lifestyle Vida Hotels and Resorts across all key markets in China including Beijing and Shanghai. The aim is to drive meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions traffic to Emaar hotels, which will also be promoted through a dedicated WeChat/Weibo account to engage young Chinese travellers.

“China continues to be one of the fastest-growing tourism markets for Dubai, led by its ‘China Ready’ strategy,” Chris Newman, chief operating officer of Emaar Hospitality, said. “Our hotels are among the most recognised and sought-after by Chinese visitors for its proximity to attractions such as Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall that are visited by 97 per cent of all tourists to the city,” he said, adding that the partnership with Youli Consulting will help boost guest arrival numbers from China.

The number of Chinese travellers to Dubai increased 13 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year to 291,662, while the total number of Chinese travellers to the city last year reached 857,000, a 12 per cent year-on-year rise, Emaar said, citing Dubai Tourism data.

In April Emaar Hospitality said it plans to open five hotels this year as it expands its offering in the emirate in the run-up to Expo 2020 Dubai.

The new hotels in Dubai in 2019 include two Address Hotels + Resorts collection, another two under Vida Hotels and Resorts and a fifth under its mid-scale Rove brand, a joint venture between Emaar Properties and Dubai real estate developer Meraas.

“We are committed to supporting the Dubai Tourism Strategy [objective] of welcoming 25 million annual visitors by 2025 through our robust portfolio of upcoming hotel projects, and will also focus on expanding our geographic footprint through new hotel management agreements,” Mr Newman said at the time.

Emaar Properties, the developer of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is growing its footprint in China with representative offices in the country to promote property sales. The company has also announced plans to expand its Address branded hotels to key cities in the country. Emaar is also developing the largest Chinatown in the Middle East at its new retail destination, Dubai Square.