UAE: Time Hotels To Open 10 New Properties Across Middle East By Q4 2018.

Time Hotels, a UAE-based hospitality company and hotel operator, plans to open 10 new properties across the Middle East by Q4 2018.

The properties, which will be unveiled at ATM in Dubai World Trade Centre (April 24-27), will see the growth and launch of existing and new brands to key territories in the region, with the company set to extend its footprint to Ajman and Fujairah in the UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, before the end of Q4 2018.

The new additions will join Time Hotels’ existing portfolio of seven properties between Dubai and Sharjah, taking the tally to 17 properties in the Middle East.

Mohamed Awadalla, CEO Time Hotels, said: “Our current pipeline of hotels and residences meet the demands of multiple markets by offering a high-quality stay across all our brand portfolio.”

Plans are in place to take the Time Residence brand to Fujairah, with the launch of the Platinum Time Residence later this year, allowing Time Hotels to position itself strategically in the emirate’s expanding hospitality market.

Awadalla said: “Since launching the Time Residence brand, we have seen demand for quality and value from the residential apartments, supported with facilities, which have added value across the region. Business travellers often look for a home-from-home environment and leisure visitors, especially families, look for less formal hotel accommodation.”

In Dubai, three new hotels will open: Time Asma Hotel, Time Express Hotel Al Jaddaf, and Time Royal Hotel & Spa, the firm’s first five-star UAE property, located in Healthcare City and designed to meet the needs of healthcare tourists. The property boasts 277 rooms and is in close proximity to the popular Wafi City Mall shopping and leisure complex. Facilities include a signature spa featuring temperature-controlled pools, a gym with rehabilitation equipment and a juice bar. The hotel will also have 20, fully adapted, disabled-friendly rooms.

Time’s international openings in Doha, Riyadh, Jeddah and Qurayyat demonstrate the brand’s strength and popularity in markets outside of the UAE.

The Time Beach Villas Resort, Jeddah, is a luxury contemporary property on the upper west side of the city, and Time’s first resort in the kingdom. It will comprise 61 units with detailed Arabic architecture encompassing a full reflection of authentic Gulf design.

Located close to the beach, and 20 minutes’ drive from Jeddah International Airport and city centre, the midrange resort will offer fitness and leisure facilities, high-speed wi-fi, LED televisions in all rooms and concierge and business services.

The resort will be joined by a 137-key four-star Yasma by Time Hotels and Resorts in Qurayyat, and Yasma by TIME Express Hotels, Riyadh. A debut for the Express brand in the kingdom, this hotel will comprise 105 rooms, catering to convenience and budget minded guests.

In Qatar, Time Rako Hotel will open in the third quarter of 2017, in the Al Wakra area of Doha. The 102-key property will mark Time Hotels’ debut in Qatar and the hotel will be positioned to compete in Doha’s fast-paced F&B landscape, with three restaurants and a rooftop lounge bar.

The hotel will target both leisure and business travellers, with high-speed wi-fi and business and concierge services available to all guests.

Awadalla continued: “It has been a busy year for Time Hotels with a raft of properties announced with several of them due to come online within the next 12 months. We have been very strategic with our openings by identifying and assessing the demand within the market and implementing the most suitable brand from the TIME portfolio to best match consumer demand.

We’re excited by the prospects this year brings and look forward to adding further to our portfolio.”

Time Hotels and Resorts is the Corporate Social Responsibility partner at this year’s Arabian Travel Market, in Dubai World Trade Centre (April 24-17) and will also be exhibiting on stand HC1220.

UGANDA: Dubai Tourism Pokes Kampala

Dubai Tourism to open up to partnership with local counterparts in Uganda, Kenya & Tanzania.

Delegates will showcase the best of Dubai to further position the city as a must-visit destination for Ugandan travellers – over 38,000 of whom visited Dubai in 2015, registering a 22 per cent year-on-year increase as Dubai set to enter top ten global cities in hotel supply as it marks 100,000 rooms Depending on how the country and the region position itself to partake on this initiative, it could either turn out to be a win-win situation or otherwise.

According to the Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) and 14 of its Dubai-based partners will embark on a multi-destination road show across three East African cities, starting in Kampala on 24 August.

Also encompassing tour operators, the aim of the trip is to highlight and promote the wide array of new and upcoming family attractions, experiences and hotels in Dubai that will further enhance the visitor experience.

As for the regional countries, among them Uganda, it will generate an opportunity for local operators to meet directly with the gulf city’s top partners with view to work together and develop the industry.

The 14 co-participants are made up of top brands including flydubai, Emirates Airline and Kenya Airways, as well as hotel groups such as Address Hotels, Rove Hotels, Time Hotels and Crowne Plaza, plus resorts featured by Arabian Falcon Holidays.

Key destination services companies include Alpha Tours, Rayna Tourism, Red Apple Middle East Tourism, North Tours and Connect World Travel & Tourism. Global Village, a leading family, cultural, shopping and entertainment destination in the Gulf region, and a popular attraction with Africans visiting Dubai, will also be joining the delegates to showcase the breadth of Dubai’s destination offering.

Commenting ahead of the road show, Issam Kazim, CEO at Dubai Tourism, said: “The potential of Uganda as a source market is positive, and this road show provides us with the opportunity to directly interact with the operators here, to showcase what Dubai has to offer them. We look forward to making long-lasting and fruitful trade relationships during the trip to further grow the tourism market in Uganda for the benefit of all.”

Dubai continues to be a popular tourist destination for Ugandan travellers, with over 38,000 visiting the city last year, a 22 per cent increase over the previous year.

Overall, Dubai saw a 13.7 per cent increase in travellers from these three East African countries last year. Sudhir Sreedharan, SVP Commercial Operations at flydubai (GCC, Africa & Indian Sub-Continent), said: “We are very pleased to take part in Dubai Tourism’s first-ever roadshow to East Africa and to showcase brand Dubai and flydubai.

We are committed to opening up underserved markets and providing reliable, direct air links to destinations that previously had no very few connections to Dubai.

East Africa is a very important market that has shown significant growth over the past few years. We currently operate 82 weekly flights to 11 points in Africa, including 3 weekly flights to Entebbe and 4 weekly flights to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

The weekly frequency will increase to 4 flights to Entebbe and 7 flights to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar from October.”

With Dubai set to hit the 100,000 rooms milestone this month across its expanding hotel and hotel apartment inventory, the city aims to firmly position itself as a top 10 global destination in terms of available hotel supply, indicating high demand from international travellers and sustained growth in tourism volumes.

Due to launch at the end of August, the park will bring to life the world of Marvel comics, transport visitors back to the Jurassic age in Lost Valley – Dinosaur Adventure and feature family favourites in the Cartoon Network zone.

Another new addition to Dubai’s expansive entertainment offering will be Dubai Parks and Resorts, the largest integrated theme park destination in the region, which is scheduled to open at the end of October.

The destination comprises Hollywood-inspired motiongate™ Dubai, Bollywood Parks™, a first-of-its-kind entertainment theme park that brings the Bollywood experience to life, and the region’s first.