Oman Hotels signs agreement for four-star hotel in Al Khuwair
MUSCAT: Oman Hotels and Tourism Company has signed the first agreement with renowned international hotel chain AccorHotels for the operation and management of a four-star hotel in Al Khuwair area, according to the Islamic Sharia Law.
The signing ceremony for the four-star hotel, Novotel Hotel, was held under the auspices of Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrizi, Minister of Tourism.
The agreement was signed by Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Khonji, Chairman of Oman Hotels and Tourism Company, and Olivier Garent, Managing Director and Chief Operation Officer, Middle East and Africa, AccorHotels.
Al Khonji said that it would be the first hotel in the company’s five-year plan project, unveiled in June, for 10 new three- and fourstar hotels, which would be managed and operated according to the provisions of the Sharia Law.
“Oman Hotels is devoted and committed to implementing the plan, and today, we celebrate its first one, which is a four-star hotel (Novotel),” stated Al Khonji .
Novotel Hotel will offer 220 spacious and luxurious rooms, meeting halls and a variety of other options and services at a total estimated cost of OMR13 million.
Al Khonji underlined that the company was in the process of preparing the studies and designs for a variety of tourist projects to cope with the estimated movement in the tourism industry during the upcoming period, marking the deep-rooted belief in the pivotal role played by the na- tional private sector in the coming phase, based on its proclaimed five-year plan.
“We aim to offer more than 2,000 multipurpose hotel rooms by leveraging the state-of-the-art capabilities and specifications through partnerships with international companies and entities specialised in the field of hotel management,” he stressed.
Investment
“Oman Hotels has invested in many projects in the past years, which have achieved remarkable success at all levels and satisfied all the parties and stakeholders concerned. This has motivated us to announce the launch and inauguration of new tourism projects that are expected to add value to our national economy and meet the growing needs of this sector in the future,” Al-Khonji revealed.
Oman Hotels is currently operating four hotels, namely Tulip in downtown Muscat, under the management and operation of Luvier International Group, with a total capacity of 81 rooms, which will get an additional 99 rooms following its ongoing expansion, increasing the hotel capacity to 180 rooms.
Sur Hotel
Furthermore, Oman Hotels also possesses Sur Hotel with a total capacity of 105 rooms, Al Wadi Hotel in Sohar offering 78 rooms and Desert Nights Camp in Badia with a total capacity of 53 hotel rooms, and all these three hotels combined are under the management of the Atkins Spence Group of Sri Lanka. All the hotels offer a total of 416 luxurious and spacious hotel rooms.
Fred Vessali, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Oman Hotels and Tourism Company, remarked: “The signing of Novotel Muscat is part of our five-year business plan to expand our hospitality portfolio to develop additional 10 new hotels in different parts of the Sultanate. This is primarily to achieve the economic diversification planned by the government and to provide opportunities for our local and regional travellers to experience the global hospitality services.”