Always a place for the local touch
There is reason to believe the future holds good for more of such initiatives in the region’s hospitality industry Special to Gulf News
ach time I drive down the boulevards of metropolitan cities in the Middle East — be it Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh or Manama — I cannot help but closely observe their skylines. A string of strong economic policies, sound planning, rise in tourism and preparing for a post-oil world has led to a brisk increase in hospitality offerings across the region in recent years.
That hospitality is an integral part of the Arab heritage, preceding the formation of urban cities, further accentuates the region’s relationship with an industry that places guests at the heart of all services.
While I admire the skylines, I am particularly inspired by the local hospitality brands that have made their presence felt in an ultra-competitive market. Built from the scratch up, local chains today compete against big international players and franchises that brought their global repute and deep resources to the region two or three decades before local offerings arrived on the scene as serious alternatives.
While this has resulted in a win-win situation for customers who now enjoy a plethora of options, local chains have had their fair share of steep learning curves. Despite stiff challenges, these brands today are instrumental in leveraging opportunities, innovating offerings that suit customers they understand best, dissecting cultural nuances of their home market and being flexible in their response to the changing pulse of the industry.
And having helped steer a home-grown hospitality brand for the past 25 years, I am confident that the next quarter of a decade will see local entities play an increasingly important role in boosting the region’s hospitality and tourism.
The UAE alone is witnessing exciting progress. Analysts say that developers in the country are gearing up to complete 40,000 new rooms in time for Expo 2020 Dubai. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council 2017 report, travel and tourism will directly contribute upwards of 410,000 jobs by 2027, rising 2.4 per cent per annum. And, Dubai’s airports are gearing to welcome 90 million passengers by the end of 2017, recording a 7.2 per cent increase from last year.
These indicators and other metrics point to the strong economic fundamentals of the UAE, presenting opportunities for hospitality players that take shape and form in its native soil. With opportunities come challenges that are characteristic of a crowded and at times uncertain industry.
In this competitive environment where the market is awash with hotel rooms, especially in the luxury segment, local insights and a thorough understanding of key source markets from the region will be important tools in a company’s arsenal as they look to diversify into mid-range properties. An incisive understanding of local market dynamics — especially in hospitality, which rides on authentic experiences and personalised services — can provide home-grown players an edge over others.
Global profile
As we continue to look outwards to welcome a global profile of visitors, it is also important to groom local talent who reflect both their native heritage and a deep understanding of foreign cultures. If we were to take Expo 2020 Dubai as a milestone for hospitality in the UAE, it is important to note that this mega event is an exhibition of the best of the country to the world outside.
Hence, excellence in hospitality for an event of this stature will have to be inspired by locally-conceived hospitality brands that are proudly Emirati at heart, but humbly cosmopolitan in its outlook — just like the UAE. Home-grown brands are important for the long-term success of a market’s hospitality segment, since its trajectory and vision is closely linked to the path pursued by the country that it represents. And I say this from experience. Rotana is celebrating 25 years in the region, and in many ways, its journey is also the story of how the region’s hospitality industry has evolved over the past quarter-century. Rotana has helped contribute immensely to the development of the region’s tourism industry, which is fast evolving into the lifeblood of GCC economies.
In addition to the more than 11,000 people it directly employs, Rotana supports thousands of indirect jobs throughout the region and continues to provide opportunities for locals to work in the hospitality sector through its various programmes in each of the markets it operates in. It is the invaluable contributions of local talent, their passion to play a part in strengthening their economy at home and a thorough understanding of industry dynamics that has helped us thrive in a competitive environment.
For instance, ‘Centro by Rotana’, an affordable lifestyle hotel brand that we unveiled in 2012, proved a game-changer for the mid-market hospitality segment and help negotiate the challenge of a crowded luxury segment that I touched upon earlier.
I have always believed that the true measure of business success is not the extent of growth a company achieves but rather how meaningfully it has been able to add value to people’s lives. And this is an indication of the region’s ability to build sustainable hospitality brands.
Even as we celebrate and reflect on all that we have achieved in the past, the scale of our ambition to drive meaningful socioeconomic value within the region and its various communities means we have a long way to go. We are already looking ahead to the next 25 years and beyond, helping the glistening skyline of the region tell an inspiring story of how locally-bred brands brought the best of Arab hospitality to foyers of magnificent hotels.