Millennium & Copthorne, Middle East and Africa continues with its major expansion in Saudi Arabia by announcing the signing of two new hotels in the holy city of Makkah with one of Saudi Arabia's most prominent companies, Al Rajhi Investments (part of Awqaf Sulaiman Bin Abdulaziz Al Rajhi). The agreement means Millennium & Copthorne has signed 10 hotels in the Kingdom within the past six months, reinforcing its position as the fastest growing operator in the region and ensuring it is on track to meet its target of 10,000 keys by 2020.
Due to open in 2017, the 822 key Millennium Hotel and 502 key Copthorne Hotel will both be located in the south eastern boundary of the Holy City of Makkah. Situated near to many important religious sites, the hotels will serve the growing number of religious tourists in the Kingdom, which are expected to rise from 17.5 million to between 25 and 30 million in 2025. The signing was announced in Riyadh last Wednesday under the patronage of Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).
Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, President & CEO, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels MEA, said "this agreement marks the beginning of what we believe will be a long and fruitful relationship with Al Rajhi Investments. We are further delighted to underline our commitment to bringing international hospitality standards to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
Khalid Saud Abuhaimed, CEO, Al Rajhi Investments, said "we have witnessed an increase in demand from religious tourists looking for hotels with international hospitality standards and we are confident that this partnership will help support this growth."
The move shortly follows the signing of four hotels in Knowledge Economic City (KEC) in Madinah last month and is part of Millennium & Copthorne's strategy to open over 20 hotels in the Kingdom within the next five years and 100 hotels across the Middle East by 2020.
© The Saudi Gazette 2015
