MILLENNIUM and Copthorne participated in a recently concluded Chinese visitor summit, aiming to increase its share of the soaring inbound Chinese visitor numbers into the UAE and wider Middle East.
Naeem Darkazally, vice-president of sales and marketing, Millennium & Copthorne Middle East & Africa throws light on the oriental subject. “We’re in a fortunate position – Chinese tour operators are well aware of our brand, with 10 hotels in mainland China and a further 13 properties throughout South East Asia.
“Moreover, our 17 hotels in the Middle East region are well placed to serve Chinese visitors, situated mainly in urban locations, convenient for shopping malls (branded luxury consumer products are much cheaper in UAE than in China), sightseeing and of course supporting the extensive meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) calendar.
“We often see Chinese leisure travellers dividing their stay between several hotels during a three to seven-night stay, so having a portfolio of brands that cover all segments will help satisfy this demand,” he said.
“The Mice market is also very important to us and we have an excellent range of meeting facilities in our properties to accommodate groups. This year we have a landmark Mice property opening in Kuwait, Millennium Hotel & Convention Centre which has more than 6,000 sqm of meeting and conference space,” he said.
Millennium & Copthorne Middle East & Africa, currently has a packed pipeline of new openings during the next 18 months with an overall target of 50 properties to be opened throughout the Middle East and Africa by 2017.
FIRST STUDIO M IN RIYADH
Millennium & Copthorne has unveiled plans to launch its Studio M brand in Riyadh in partnership with Saudi owner Waseel Properties and developer Raseel Properties. The 145-key property is the first Studio M brand in the Middle East and will be centrally located in Riyadh on King Fahd Road and is due to open in the second quarter of 2015.
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