Despite the ongoing global challenges posed by coronavirus, Dubai is positioned as one of the best cities for the hospitality sector due to the government’s handling of the pandemic.
Recovery of the region’s tourism industry and a return to 2019 visitor numbers, however, is not expected before mid-2022 or 2023, according to Tim Cordon senior area VP MEA, Radisson Hotel Group.
“For the past 12 months, one of the best places, if not the best place, in the world to have a hotel in has been Dubai. That’s not to say it hasn’t been tough because, especially initially, getting through the pandemic was an existential crisis for hoteliers,” said Cordon.
“But Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia have fared better than many other markets, certainly better than Europe. Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait were a little bit more challenging,” he added.
The UAE’s successful rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations and the stringent regulations to curb the spread of the virus had a “clear and direct correlation” to hotel-business recovery in Dubai, said Cordon. However, a full tourism rebound is not expected before 2023.
“Compared to 2019, we still have some way to go. To get back to those levels, we are looking at 2023 or mid-2022 depending on which part of the Middle East we are looking at,” said Cordon.
“Dubai is leading the way in this and Abu Dhabi has done well too but is a little bit more restrictive when it comes to re-opening for global tourism,” he added.
The main challenge to tourism recovery is that Dubai’s main international feeder markets are still battling the pandemic and have restricted or banned international travel.
“The Middle East has always thrived on international travel because of its strategic location between east and west,” explained Cordon.
Tim Cordon senior area VP MEA, Radisson Hotel Group.
“But today, international travellers coming in and using the hotels, whether for business or leisure, is still largely missing. The Middle East’s key feeder markets – namely Europe, US, China and India – are all in a tough place right now so even if our region is open, most of these countries are restricting travel both in and out,” he continued.
This could have a mixed impact on the upcoming summer season as some expats may not be able to return to their home countries or travel internationally. And residents of neighbouring countries may travel to the UAE for the same reason, explained Cordon.
“Although it is a bit early in the summer to say this, we believe the season will be better than we had previously expected, meaning the gap between 2019 will be smaller,” he said.
“Keeping in mind though that summer is typically a tough time for hoteliers in the Middle East so to say that it is getting back to 2019 levels doesn’t mean it’s a good performance; it just means it is little impacted,” Cordon added.
Within that context, the wider Middle East and Africa remain a “core part of our global development strategy”, said Cordon, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE the main focus. Radisson Group plans to have 40 hotels in operation in Saudi Arabia by next year and sees a lot of potential in the kingdom.
Radisson Group plans to have 40 hotels in operation in Saudi Arabia by next year and sees a lot of potential in the kingdom.
“Vision 2030 diversifies the kingdom’s economy and that shows you there is a real commitment towards investing in tourism in the country. This is critical because, in the Middle East, you can’t really get things moving unless you have a central government really supporting it in a significant way and that is clearly the case in Saudi Arabia,” said Cordon.
“The second thing it does is open Saudi Arabia to global travel, when we move beyond the pandemic, through the policies and e-visas making it a lot easier to get in in there,” he added.
Cordon said: “The vision also looks to create destinations within it. Saudi Arabia is an enormous country and there are some beautiful parts of it which are still underexplored for tourism and open to development. Within that context, there is a lot to be very excited about in Saudi Arabia over the next three to five years.”
The group will be more “selective” in the UAE aiming for hotels that would complement its existing portfolio, he revealed. This includes an upcoming resort on Palm Jumeirah.
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