Al Anwar Holdings signs pact with AccorHotels for new hotel in Muscat
Novotel Muscat Azaiba offers 200 spacious rooms, a fully-equipped gym, spa and a swimming pool.
MUSCAT: AccorHotels, an international hotel chain, has signed a management agreement with Al Anwar Holdings SAOG on Monday for its brand new hotel – Novotel Muscat Azaiba.
The agreement was signed by Massoud Al Harthy, Chairman of Al Anwar Holdings SAOG, and the chief executive officer of AccorHotels at the Tulip Inn (Ruwi) Hotel, under the auspices of Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrizi, Minister of Tourism.
Located in close proximity to the Muscat International Airport, the upcoming Mall of Oman and Madinat Al Irfan development, Novotel Muscat Azaiba will provide convenient access to key business and leisure destinations in Muscat.
“As Oman takes great strides in economic diversification, we see a major opportunity to grow our portfolio through a focus on hospitality. The location of Novotel Muscat Azaiba on the Sultan Qaboos Road near Oman’s prestigious international convention centre positions it as a unique offering in the market,” said Masoud bin Humaid Al Harthy.
“Partnering with AccorHotels was a natural choice for our move into hotel development, as we aim to work with a team that has a strong track record and reputation as a leading travel and lifestyle group in the Middle East,” added Al Harthy.
Novotel Muscat Azaiba offers 200 spacious rooms, a fullyequipped gym, spa and a swimming pool. A variety of dining options will be on offer, including a lobby lounge and all-day dining restaurant. Besides these, Novotel Muscat Azaiba will have meeting rooms for medium to large scale gatherings. The project will also offer serviced offices for foreign in- vestors and travellers to work and stay together in the same place.
“The tourism sector is expected to get a shot in the arm with the opening of a state-of-the-art airport in Muscat at the beginning of next year, while the new routes of Oman Air and budget carrier Salam Air will help attract tourists from within the region and other international destinations,” remarked Al Harthy.
The Sultanate, like other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, is expanding the capacity of its airports and developing infrastructure to complement the government’s push to boost visitor traffic, thus providing a major incentive for increasing hotel ca- pacities. The new state-of-the-art terminal at the Muscat airport has the capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum, which can be scaled up to 24 million, 36 million and 48 million in different phases if needed.
Al Harthy noted that the National Strategy for Tourism 2040 aimed to make the Sultanate one of the most important tourism destinations with a robust 6 per cent annual growth in tourism revenue, besides doubling the number of tourists to five million visitors by 2040. In the Middle East region, AccorHotels operates more than 100 hotels, which have a combined strength of more than 31,000 rooms.