A new five star hotel being built Bur Dubai will open in October 2011, it was revealed this week.
Sol Melia, the Spanish company behind the AED200m project, announced at the Arabian Travel Market that the hotel would open on 12th October, to coincide with national day in Spain.
Andre Gerondeau, executive vice president of the hotel division at Sol Melia, said he hoped the hotel was the first of many in the GCC.
"This is the first step towards realising our expansion plans for the region. We are currently negotiating with potentil partners in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan and we hope to make further announcements in the near future," he said.
Gerondeau added that the hotel would focus on guests coming to Dubai from Spain, a trend which has become popular in the last few years, amounting to 30,000 in 2010.
He said this is set to increase as Emirates opened its first daily flight to Madrid last summer while Iberia operates four weekly flights to Dubai. Meanwhile, Emirates flights to Buenos Aires and Rio de Janiero would bring in tourists from South America.
"We believe that our traditional Spanish hospitality can offer a new dimension to customers in the region," Gerondeau said.
