JEDDAH, 11 October 2003 — The recent trend has been positive for the hospitality industry. There was a perceptible jump in the number of Saudi families crisscrossing the Kingdom last summer. “Going by the trend, the Kingdom — especially its three major cities — will need many more hotels in the next five to 10 years. Aside from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, international chains have been looking for managing properties in the two holy cities, keeping an eye on the rising number of pilgrim,” a top international hotel management executive said.
“A distinct increase in domestic tourism has prompted us to expand our hotel management base across the Kingdom,” Amine E. Moukarzel, vice president and managing director Middle East and Africa at the Dubai-based regional office of Golden Tulip Hotels, Inns and Resorts, told Arab News.
“We’ve started embarking on our plan to offer franchise services to local properties in the Kingdom, with a commitment to train Saudis for positions at different levels. We’re offering franchise services through rebranding and relaunching,” he said during his visit at Albilad Hotel on the Corniche. The Golden Tulip chain is managing the hotel since the beginning of the year. It was run independently for a while after its management contract with the Movenpick international chain ended.
“We offer training at three levels — from top management positions down to grassroots. Our system involves our trainers coming from the headquarters in the Netherlands and training the local staff who in turn train the new recruits. At Albilad Hotel, we’ve been additionally giving on-job training to Saudis,” he said.
The Golden Tulip, which claims to be committed to its slogan “international standards, local flavors,” runs four hotels in the Kingdom.
The three others include two in Riyadh — the Riyadh Palace and the Andalusia Golden Tulip, and one in the Eastern Province — the Golden Tulip Palace in Alkhobar.
Amine said: “Saudis are No. 1 travelers in the Arab world. We’ve just finalized franchising a property with 140 rooms and suites in Makkah, which is close to the Holy Haram, and are looking for one in Madinah.
“Across the Arab world, we manage 14 hotels. They include three— to five-star properties. Our aim is to be present in every city in the Arab world. We hope to have (under our management) 25 properties in the Arab world by 2005.”
The Golden Tulip, with its 270 hotels worldwide, ranks 12th globally, according to him.
“Our strength is our system through which we develop close relationship with property owners and employees. Our philosophy is to capitalize on people at all levels,” Amine said.