Despite the overseas perception of the Middle East as an area of conflict, the hotel sector in the Arabian Gulf has reached, and in some cases surpassed, business levels achieved last year, according to officials at Le Meridien, an operator of upscale properties in the region.
Regional managing director, Sami Zoghbi, stressed that no small part in this business revival has been the activities of government tourism bodies such as Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. "Generally, the hospitality sector has recovered well in the Gulf, but Egypt and the Red Sea resorts are still on their knees and more government action is needed to bring tourism back to previous levels," he said
Countries more sensitive to international media reporting are witnessing a slower come-back, and this situation has been aggravated by potential over-supply in weak markets such as Lebanon and Jordan.
The hotel group, that has new properties scheduled to open in Luxor, Cairo, Fujairah, Makkah and Madinah within a year, is looking to new markets to sustain visitor numbers at a healthy level - in particular as regional airlines open up new routes. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
