{"id":6704,"date":"2025-12-18T10:35:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T01:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/?p=6704"},"modified":"2025-12-18T10:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T01:35:13","slug":"h-world-international-eyes-tourism-surge-across-mena-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/uncategorized\/6704\/","title":{"rendered":"H World International Eyes Tourism Surge Across MENA Region"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">| By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoteliermiddleeast.com\/people\/h-world-internationals-high-hopes-for-mena-tourism-boom\">Hotelier Middle East<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Strategic Expansion Toward 2028<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">H World International is accelerating its presence across the Middle East, Africa, and India with a development plan featuring leased, managed, and franchised hotels slated to open by 2028. The company sees rising demand from business travellers as well as the leisure sector, with priority markets including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Tourism Momentum in MENA<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Siegfried Nierhaus, Vice President for the Middle East, India, and Africa, describes the region as undergoing a remarkable economic shift. National development plans, especially Saudi Vision 2030, are reshaping tourism priorities, opening the door for upscale hotel concepts. Dubai remains a global gateway, while Abu Dhabi and Oman are gaining ground through luxury culture-driven travel. Egypt, supported by growing foreign partnerships, continues to rebuild investor trust.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nierhaus highlights strong demand arriving from global markets such as China, Germany, and Egypt, noting that travellers increasingly seek brands that combine authentic character, sustainable values, and modern design.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Egypt: A Core Growth Hub<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Egypt remains a vital base for the company, recording a year-to-date occupancy rate of 73.2 percent. Guests from Germany, the UK, and Europe fuel consistent performance, contributing to a 5.7 percent year-on-year rise in average daily rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">H World International currently operates 16 hotels and six Nile cruise ships in Egypt, with the Steigenberger Resort Saint Catherine scheduled to open in late 2025. Positioned in the Sinai Peninsula, the resort will serve as a wellness retreat immersed in natural surroundings.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Saudi Arabia: Rising Demand<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Kingdom represents another major pillar of expansion. Several new hotels are planned before 2028, aligned with Saudi Arabia\u2019s tourism targets. IntercityHotel Riyadh Malaz reported 76.8 percent occupancy year-to-date in 2024, climbing to 80.6 percent over the latest three months, surpassing market averages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Across Saudi Arabia, IntercityHotels saw a 13.3 percent occupancy increase, paired with an 8.4 percent rise in ADR. Combined, these gains produced a 23.8 percent lift in RevPAR, a signal of solid mid-scale market strength.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Culture-Driven Hospitality Vision<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nierhaus explains that cultural identity sits at the centre of the brand\u2019s approach. Hotels integrate local design features, culinary traditions, and regional influences to deliver meaningful guest experiences. The goal is to retain brand consistency while shaping each property to reflect its surroundings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Comprehensive employee training ensures standards remain uniform across markets, yet properties are encouraged to highlight unique local narratives and decorative elements\u2014something travellers increasingly seek.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>New Lifestyle Brands on the Horizon<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">H World International is evaluating options to introduce additional lifestyle-focused brands to the region. Among them is Zleep Hotels, defined by Nordic elegance, functional style, and comfort at accessible price points. The group expects these modern concepts to resonate strongly with experience-driven visitors.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Local Collaboration for Sustainable Growth<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Partnerships play a key role in expansion strategy. The company works closely with local developers, regional operators, and tourism bodies to secure suitable locations and ensure long-term viability. Successes in Egypt and the company\u2019s India joint venture illustrate the value of regional cooperation.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>Original Article:<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hotelier Middle East. (2025). <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">H World International\u2019s high hopes for MENA tourism boom<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. https:\/\/www.hoteliermiddleeast.com\/people\/h-world-internationals-high-hopes-for-mena-tourism-boom<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>| By Hotelier Middle East Strategic Expansion Toward 2028 H World International is accelerating its presence a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":6705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[4353,2720,4350,4351,4352],"class_list":["post-6704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-uncategorized","tag-h-world","tag-hotel-industry","tag-mena-tourism","tag-tourism-boom","tag-travel-growth","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6706,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6704\/revisions\/6706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/souqtimes.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}