Nakheel signs Dh588m Deira hotel deal with Austria’s largest chain HOSPITALITY

Nakheel, the property developer behind Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, will partner with Vienna House hotel chain to add a 600-room beachfront resort at its Deira Islands, its third hospitality joint venture project at the waterfront city.

The companies said they will jointly build the Vienna House Deira Beach complex on the 15.3 square kilometre Deira Islands, but did not provide a timeline for the start of construction or completion of the project.

The Dubai government-owned company signed a letter of intent with Austria’s largest independent hotel chain for the Dh588 million hotel in Bangkok last Friday, Nakheel said in an emailed statement yesterday.

“Our ongoing strategy is to bring new, highly-reputable hospitality brands and concepts to Dubai as part of our commitment to supporting the government in realising its tourism vision,” Ali Rashid Lootah, the chairman of Nakheel, said. “Vienna House has an enviable track record in hotel management and is renowned for its excellent service and hospitality across Europe.”

Dubai, which plans to attract 20 million visitors by 2020, has announced a series of initiatives to boost tourism to the emirate. This month, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing presented a plan to attract more transit passengers through the Dubai hub, the world’s busiest airport by international traffic, a measure that could bring in an extra 1 million tourists.

DTCM also suggested introducing time-share concept to lure more families to Dubai by listing up to 1,000 properties, which could increase their length of stay.

The Vienna House Deira Beach resort will be Nakheel’s third joint venture at Deira Islands where it already has developments with 1,400 rooms under way with Spain’s RIU Hotels and Resorts and Thailand’s Centara Hotels and Resorts. Nakheel has a total of 3,600 hotel rooms at the waterfront city through existing and upcoming hotel management agreements and joint ventures, it said in the statement.

The developer of Dragon Mart has expanded into the hospitality sector with 18 hotels in Dubai, eight of them in Deira Islands, the offshore project that will add 40 kilometres, including 21km of beach to Dubai’s coastline and pave the way for the development of hotels, residences and tourist attractions.

Dubai received 4.7 million international visitors in the first quarter of 2018, a 2 per cent rise from the same period last year, despite a decline in the number of visitors from primary markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UK, according to the latest DTCM figures released last week.