'BRIC countries key to sustaining Gulf hotel growth'

DUBAI: Asia and South America are drivers for growth in the hotel sector in the Gulf, particularly for Dubai, where demand is only limited by the number of available airline seats, senior hotel officials have said.

China and India were cited as the key to future expansion in the sector, while others said that recent events had demonstrated the effects of the numbers game.

Marc-François Dardenne, the CEO of Emaar Hotels & Resorts, said it was not only China, but other emerging markets that would sustain development in the future.

"We are targeting countries closer to home in the first instance -- the GCC and India -- but will be setting up sales offices in China and then look at Brazil and Africa as source markets," he said.

Delegates at the summit were in agreement that airlines such as Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways would fuel development of the region by fulfilling the cross-roads designation of the region.

The Gulf's geographical location is undoubtedly one of its major strengths, providing a natural link between the East and West. Moreover, its access to Russian and Indian markets specifically gives the region a strategic advantage.

Questioning whether hotel rates in the region would remain high, the experts agreed that expansion of three-and four-star hotels in most markets would serve to pull down average daily rates (ADR), which have remained among the world's most expensive for many regional cities.

"For the first quarter in 2011, average occupancies in Dubai hotels were back above the 80 per cent mark and while average daily rates have taken a plunge, they still exceed USD 200," said summit moderator Jalil Mekouar, MD-Hotels, Jones Lang LaSalle, pointing out this was more than in Hong Kong, Paris, New York and London.