JEDDAH, 20 February 2007 — Accor group, a world leader in the hospitality industry, is investing more than $360 billion in its projects planned across Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East-Gulf region by 2020. The plan was initiated in 2005, and the group is expected to increase its operations from 18 to 58 hotels by 2009-end. It currently has 24 hotels under construction in the Middle East.
“The Kingdom and the UAE will take the lion’s share of the investment,” Dr. Abderahman Belgat, director general, Accor Saudi Arabia and Sudan and general manager of Saudi French Co. for Hotel Management, told a press conference here yesterday.
Accor’s ZamZam Grand Suites, the company’s flagship property in the Kingdom, which had its soft opening, is located a few steps away from the Holy Haram in Makkah. It is one of the biggest and most luxurious properties in the Middle East-Africa region, which is geared to provide “exceptional service, quality and comfort in line with the Sofitel brand standards.”
The hotel, with an investment of $650 million, has 1,300 contemporary, stylish and well presented rooms and suites with a total capacity of 6,000 guests and will hire more than 1,100 employees. “Most of them will be Saudis, as part of our Saudization plan,” Belgat emphasized. Accor’s another project, the 235-room Mercure Grand Residence Azizia, is set to open by next month.
The group is also expanding its presence in other parts of the Kingdom and is in negotiation for additional properties in Riyadh, Dammam, Taif, Madinah and Jeddah, Belgat said.
Among its projects currently under construction are the Sofitel Alkhobar with 235 luxurious rooms, which is set to open by 2007-end, and the Novotel Princess Al Anoud, which is located in the heart of Riyadh and is scheduled to open by October. “This project is of particular interest as the profit is earmarked for a charitable foundation — Foundation Princess Al Anoud,” Belgat said.
The Saudi French Company for Hotel Management, a 100 percent Accor subsidiary, will be managing a total of 20 hotels with a total capacity of 5,000 rooms by 2010 and with 4,500 employees. “Fifty percent of them will be Saudis,” he said.
Emphasizing the potential of the Kingdom’s tourism industry, Belgat said: “It’s imperative to understand that local tourism is not limited to only religious tourism. The industry represents a huge potential with its multidimensional diversity — cultural, ecological, archaeological, desert attractions and resort facilities that encompass the needs expectations and motivations of today’s traveler.”
“In line with Accor’s sustainable development program, Saudization remains the first priority for the Saudi French Company for Hotel Management, which manages properties for Accor in the Kingdom. Accor Saudi Arabia is fully committed to play its role in helping and developing young Saudis, graduates and others to learn, understand and integrate into the tourism industry,” he said.
Accor, in cooperation with the Supreme Commission for Tourism, has initiated the establishment and management of several hotel schools in the main strategic regions of the Kingdom.
The official signing of the agreement for the establishment of hotel schools in Riyadh, Taif and Hofuf took place on June 7, 2006, in Riyadh, Belgat said, adding that this project comes as a result of three years of discussions. “By 2012, as many as 10,000 young Saudis, both male and female, will be trained by Accor Saudi Arabia in line with Islamic regulations. This will guarantee them jobs in various professions of the hospitality industry.
