Millennium and Copthorne Hotels is planning to open five new properties in the UAE by 2012, it was reported on Wednesday.
The move would increase the company’s presence in the country to 11 hotels with bosses saying the UAE remained one of the best tourism environments in the region.
“Three of the five new hotels will be opened in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the first half of next year, while the other two hotels, in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, will be inaugurated within two years,” said Rey Alcocer, vice president, Operations, Middle East and North Africa, in comments published by Emirates Business.
The impact of the global recession on the hotel and tourism sector in the UAE had not been so big, he told the paper, adding that he thought the hotel sector would witness a strong start next year.
“There has been no difficulty in financing the five hotels and they will be opened on time. The total cost is billions of dirhams, but we do no not have any problem with regard to finance,” he added.
Six out of the eight hotels currently run by the chain in the MENA region are in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The other two are in Qatar and Kuwait.
