IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has announced the appointment of Haitham Mattar as managing director of India, Middle East & Africa (IMEA), effective April 18.

Kanoo Travel, one of the largest travel company in the Middle East, has extended its 25-year partnership with Sabre Corporation, a leading software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry. 

According to the latest published Construction Pipeline Trend Report for the Middle East from Lodging Econometrics (LE), the hotel construction pipeline in the Middle East declined again to 542 projects/156,921 rooms.

Despite the challenges, due to the current circumstances, Radisson Hotel Group has started moving towards normality with a host of expansion and opening announcements over the past months.

 From the first Radisson RED in the region to making history with the appointment of the world’s first female Saudi General Manager in the hospitality industry, Radisson Hotel Group looks back on a year of mixed emotions and many great achievements.

 Looking back at 2020, Radisson Hotel Group has announced more than 40 new hotel signings across EMEA, five of which comprising 1,500 keys fall within the Middle East region. With that in mind, Radisson Hotel Group is confident that travel will continue to rebound, and more capital will be invested in the industry from both the private and public sectors.

 While customer preferences, financial markets, and real estate dynamics may evolve, the group continues to put their owners and guests at the heart of its initiatives. While many hotel groups have put their development plans on hold, Radisson Hotel Group and its shareholders have remained committed towards their ambitions. The group remains focused on its  mission to be recognised as one of the top three hotel brands in the world and the brand of choice for owners, guests, and talent. The recently announced signings re-affirm the group’s commitment to its owners, employees, guests, and partners and further strengthens its global scale of over 1,100 hotels in operation and another 300 in the pipeline.

The latest data analysis produced by YouGov for Reed Exhibitions, the organiser of Arabian Travel Market (ATM,) has revealed that 46 percent of luxury travellers in the Middle East, are planning to travel internationally at some stage during this year.