DUBAI, 2 May 2006 — Sheikh Mohammed ibn Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE vice president and prime minister and ruler of Dubai, has unveiled the Bawadi Hospitality project in Dubai — a AED100 billion hospitality and tourism development, which will see the construction of the world’s largest hotel. The development will also feature the largest concentration of leading hotels anywhere in the world. The project is to be developed and managed by Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holding and marks the entrance of Tatweer into the hospitality industry in Dubai. Bawadi project has been conceived to develop capacity for the forecast dramatic increase in tourism to Dubai, which is set to reach more than 15 million visitors over the coming years, compared to the current six million tourists who visited the Emirate in 2005. “The launch of this project effectively signals the next major phase in tourism development in Dubai as we look forward to the next eight years of major growth,” Tatweer CEO Saeed Al Muntafiq said.
“Strategically this development represents a significant platform in the development of tourism in the emirate, in terms of growing capacity, and will confirm Dubai as one of the world’s premier destinations,” he added. Bawadi will add an additional 31 hotels to the emirate over the next eight years, nearly doubling the current number of hotel rooms in Dubai. Centerpiece of the development will be the world’s largest hotel, Asia-Asia, which alone will provide 6,500 rooms, combining 5,100 four star and an additional 1,400 five star rooms. Not only will the Bawadi project help to stimulate direct growth in the tourism industry in the UAE, but it will also act as a strong catalyst to tourism dependent industries such as MICE (meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions) and the corporate travel business. The announcement of this development follows extensive research into the dynamics of the tourism market in Dubai and projections over the next eight years in terms of growth and development. The AED100 billion investment will comprise a AED30 billion investment from Tatweer in hotel developments and AED10 billion investment in infrastructure. The remaining AED60 billion is expected to come from investors.
The total capacity of the Bawadi development will be 29,200 rooms out of which 12,450 will be developed by Tatweer’s 12 themed hotels, with a further 16,750 rooms being developed by investors through the construction of another 19 hotels.
