KUWAIT: Kuwait Tourism Still Slower Than Other GCC Countries

According to latest data, the tourism sector in Kuwait has had a good summer this year, with its hotel sector having outperformed those in other GCC markets.

According to report by TRI Consulting Middle East, released in September, Kuwait and UAE were the only countries in the MENA region in which, hotels performed well during August, which is usually one of the slowest months in the region.

Kuwait benefitted from Eid al Fitr holidays which led to increased demand, particularly from domestic and Saudi Arabian visitors, the report said.

Hotel occupancy rate grew 3.4 percent, to touch 37 percent, while average room rate grew 12 percent to hit $271.72, resulting in 23.3 percent increase in revenue per available room.

All these show positive signs, but the tourism sector remains largely underdeveloped and Kuwait still needs to have variety of tourist attractions in comparison to its neighbors.

The government released a five-year tourism development plan in 2011. Therefore, by 2017, Kuwait aims to welcome at least one million tourists annually, said Khaled Al Ghanim, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Kuwait Touristic Enterprises Company.

The World Travel and Tourism Council expect tourist arrival to touch 331,000 in 2013, growing by 3.6 percent annually, to hit 485,000 by 2023.

Over the past decade, it has been found that growth is possible. The GCC Hospitality Industry Report 2013 by Alpen Capital includes expenses incurred on hotels, restaurants, travel and communication grew at the rate of 12.8 percent.

This has been primarily due to increased business tourism and from the year 2011, leisure spending accounted for 60 percent of the market.

However, Kuwait still remains in lower end of the spectrum, as in the GCC region, the leisure market accounts for 70 percent of tourism spending.

Boosting leisure tourism is an important part of state’s plans. New leisure amenities are likely to roll-out of several of planned hotels.

Several four and five star resorts are likely to open in Kuwait by 2020, including the projects falling under the InterContinental Hotel Group umbrella, the Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa, while Kuwait’s Partnership Technical Bureau has listed development of resorts and a marina on Failaka Island as priority project.

Other developments include re-opening of Radisson Blu Hotel after renovation, announcement that Millennium and Copthome Hotels, management of new Millennium hotels.

In September 2012, Kuwait Municipality unveiled a proposal to develop a series of luxury hotels. Authorities plan to develop properties at the Fair Ground, Al Salam Palace and Sabah Al Salem University by teaming with private sector.

However, hotel operators are waiting for the market to be more mature before it gets ready to receive top-end resorts.

While Kuwait’s efforts to boost visitor numbers are gathering pace, growing attractions and retail developments will pivotal, too.


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KUWAIT: Why Is Kuwait Not A Popular Tourism Destination?

What is missing for Kuwait to be a tourist destination?

Most Kuwaitis and expats take advantage of any leave granted to them, even if it is for two or three days, to travel abroad for a chance to enjoy the beautiful touristic atmosphere provided by other places such as Dubai, Oman, etc.

These nearby places are not cheap, yet desired by everyone, especially families. I don't blame them and I encourage them to go there even for a weekend.

For Kuwait, it's hard to be a tourist country in the absence of the right infrastructure unlike the UAE or Qatar.

Those countries took a decision in this matter years ago and supported the private sector to take a leading role, but Kuwait unfortunately lacks such support.

There are several obstacles that stand against the advancement of the tourism industry in Kuwait. Tourism does not occur by coincidence and is not linked to a desire of a few individuals, but is a collective effort.

Tourism today is an industry and a source of income, so the infrastructure of the state and its policies must be geared to this goal.

There's no law regulating the tourism sector in Kuwait and establishment of development projects, coupled with a lack of land for companies to set up tourism projects.

Every day I see more new empty hotels, and I wonder why they are building new hotels because this will not make the country a tourist spot in the absence of even a suitable international airport!

A local study confirmed that in the year 2014, Kuwaitis spent two billion dinars ($7 billion) on tourism abroad.

The average spending of a Kuwaiti per day is almost around $3,000 (KD 840), and according to the study, this is one of the highest global rates of spending!

Attracting tourists from outside Kuwait is not only difficult but impossible to achieve in the presence of many options available for tourists in nearly all countries in the region.

We are losing plenty of money, and focusing on the tourism industry would contribute to the revitalization of the national economy and create new jobs for young graduates, which will eliminate unemployment and provide a decent life for many citizens and expatriates, including businessmen and owners of shops and restaurants.

This should be associated with facilitating tourist visas. I understand security precautions, but this should not be a reason to shut down the country.

Another major obstacle is the absence of an independent government body for tourism for cooperating with specialized local and international media firms and channels.

I don't recall that I have witnessed a serious call by the National Assembly or the government for such a body. I don't mean nice media talk, but serious efforts with a substantial budget.

Tourism needs a political decision. It is an integral part of the national economy.


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KUWAIT: InterContinental Hotels Group To Build And Manage Hotels In Kuwait

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has announced an agreement with Bukhamseen Group Holding Company to build and operate IHG hotels in Kuwait exclusively with the business conglomerate.

Under the terms of the agreement, IHG will expand its brand portfolio and hotel footprint in the market in an exclusive collaboration with the group.

Founded in 1957, Bukhamseen Group Holding Company is a multinational organisation with business interests in tourism and hospitality, food and beverage, banking, education, engineering, finance, insurance, real estate as well as retail.

Based in Safat, Kuwait, the group has operations in several markets in the Middle East including Egypt, the UAE, Syria and Lebanon.

IHG currently operates three hotels in Kuwait in partnership with Bukhamseen Group - Crowne Plaza Al Thuraya City, Holiday Inn Al Thuraya City and Holiday Inn Salmiya.

Additionally, the newest venture, located adjacent to the Crowne Plaza Al Thuraya City and Holiday Inn Al Thuraya City, is the InterContinental Al Thurayathat, which is currently under construction and is due to open in 2019.

The agreement grants countrywide exclusivity (Kuwait) to the Bukhamseen Group for a 10-year term and covers six IHG brands, including InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Resort, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites.

Alan Watts, chief operating officer, Asia, Middle East and Africa, IHG said: We are pleased to be signing an exclusive agreement with our long-term business partner - Bukhamseen Group, for further hotel development in Kuwait.

With this signing, we look forward to increasing the momentum of our growth in the country and continue our endeavour to deliver great guest experiences to guests visiting Kuwait for business and or leisure.

Pascal Gauvin, chief operating officer, India, Middle East and Africa, IHG said:Our relationship with the Bukhamseen group goes back over three decades, and together we have established a strong presence for IHG in Kuwait, with three operational hotels and one under construction.

Each one of these hotels has a successful legacy in the country and we are confident that our future ventures together will follow suit.

Jawad Ahmed Bukhamseen, founder and chairman, Bukhamseen Group Holding Company said: We have had a rewarding relationship with IHG over the last 30 years.

It is our pleasure to strengthen this association further through an exclusive agreement which will allow us to continue to deliver hotels of international standard in Kuwait and cater to the guests looking for a truly local, Kuwaiti experience.

QATAR: Qatar Versus Gulf Diplomatic Rift Will Hurt Aviation In Middle East

A diplomatic rift between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors may cost them billions of dollars by slowing trade and investment and making it more expensive for the region to borrow money as it grapples with low oil prices.

With an estimated $335 billion of assets in its sovereign wealth fund, Qatar looks able to avoid an economic crisis over the decision Monday by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to cut air, sea and land transport links.

The tiny state’s newly expanded port facilities mean it can continue liquefied natural gas exports that earned it a trade surplus of $2.7 billion in April, and import by sea goods that used to come over its land border with Saudi Arabia, now closed.

But parts of Qatar’s economy could suffer badly if the dispute, over Riyadh’s allegations that Doha has been supporting terrorism, drags on for months – a prospect that helped to push the Qatari stock market down more than 7 percent Monday.

Fast-growing Qatar Airways, at the center of the tiny state’s effort to become a tourism hub, is likely to face losses from being barred some of the Middle East’s biggest hubs.

Qatar’s government has been borrowing at home and abroad to help finance some $200 billion of infrastructure spending as it prepares to host the World Cup soccer tournament in 2022. A drop in Qatari bond prices Monday suggested that borrowing would become more expensive – possibly slowing some projects.

Bonds of other countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council barely moved Monday, but some foreign bankers said the whole region could end up paying more to borrow if diplomatic tensions persisted.

If this dispute goes on for a while, the ramifications could be huge, said an international banker based in the Gulf, declining to be named because of political sensitivities.

Asset managers will not differentiate between Qatar and the rest of the GCC, and international managers will take their hands off any credit from the GCC. If Qatar is seen as a terror-financing or compliance issue, then asset managers will be cautious.

Because they all rely heavily on oil and gas exports, the GCC states have only weak trade and investment ties with each other, which will limit the economic fallout of their dispute. The UAE is Qatar’s biggest trading partner from the GCC but only its fifth-largest globally.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries traditionally account for only about 5 to 10 percent of trading on the Qatari stock market, according to exchange data, suggesting even a total pullout would not sink the market.

Nevertheless, Qatar will face higher costs in some areas. Saudi Arabia and the UAE provided $309 million of Qatar’s $1.05 billion of food imports in 2015. Much of them, especially dairy products, came over the Saudi land border; Doha will have to make other arrangements for them.

Construction costs in Qatar could also rise, fueling inflation across the economy, because aluminum and other building materials can no longer be imported by land.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar for eight months in 2014 over Doha’s alleged support of Islamist groups, but that had minimal market or economic impact because it did not involve a ban on transport links. Trade and investment went on much as before.

This time, Saudi Arabia has promised to begin legal procedures for immediate understandings with brotherly and friendly countries and international companies to apply the same procedures as soon as possible.

It is not clear that Riyadh will be able to persuade more countries to cut links with Doha.

But it could try to force foreign companies to make a choice between doing business with Qatar and obtaining access to its own, much larger market, which it is opening up as part of economic reforms.

Cairo-based bankers said Monday that some Egyptian banks had halted dealings with Qatari banks.

It was not clear whether GCC banks would do the same; UAE commercial bankers said they were waiting for guidance from their central bank.

Stock markets in Dubai and several other Gulf centers fell Monday – although not by nearly as much as Qatar – in a sign that investors around the region were worried.

Overall it’s not good. I don’t think that the region has been in such turmoil so close to home.

And I think everyone is speculating how far these steps will go forward, said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief executive of Abu Dhabi’s NBAD Securities.

Everyone is hoping that there will be intervention by wise people and things will cool down. But what we have seen is a gradual escalation.