Juma Al Majid Group to expand hotel portfolio, add 1,000 keys

In order to capitalise on the growing tourist inflow in Dubai, family-owned conglomerate Juma Al Majid is expanding its hotel portfolio in the emirate ahead of Expo 2020.

Mohammad Saadeddine, Group Chief Finance Officer of Juma Al Majid Group, said the group will add more than 1,000 keys by opening three new properties in the emirate in the next three years, thus creating thousands of new jobs.

“We are planning to construct three hotels in Dubai with a combination of 3, 4 and 5-star brands with over 1,000 rooms. We will see all options available for our hotels’ management and opt for the best company that can manage our properties,” he said.

“Currently we have one hotel with 220-plus rooms. We will progress further with a lot more accommodation facilities which are in the pipeline. With Dubai Expo 2020 and many developers being encouraged to open offices in Dubai, we do see travel enthusiasts flocking to the emirate,” Saadeddine added.

Based on the industry estimates that a hotel room creates 1.5 to 3 jobs, it can be expected that the group will be hiring well over 1,500 jobs for its upcoming hotel properties.

Being a major construction company, Saadeddine said the group will mainly be constructing the hotel on its own.

The CFO said the group has been awarded an MEP contract by Nakheel for the Palm Mall on Palm Jumeirah and it also bagged a fit-out contract for Crystal Tower.

The group, he said, is working on several retail and mixed-used real estate projects which will be completed in the next two to three years.

As part of its expansion of hospitality and tourism units, the group is also participating for the first time in the Arabian Travel Market 2015 starting in Dubai on Monday where it will be holding meetings with Dubai Tourism and foreign operators.
 

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