Quantcast
Channel: Credence Independent Advisors » UAE
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

He’s Dubai’s leading hotelier, and he has his eye on Britain’s North

0
0

Jumeirah Group’s chief executive says ties between Dubai and the UK are strong, but we still lack enough world class infrastructure.

One of the Middle East’s most successful hoteliers, Gerald Lawless, group chief executive of Jumeirah Group, has witnessed first hand how the philosophy of “build and they will come” has transformed Dubai into a global tourism powerhouse.

An example of this theory in practice is the Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai, which is currently celebrating its 15th year since first opening in the emirates. Initially critics complained that the towering structure, designed to mimic an Arab dhow’s sail and spinnaker, would be a “white elephant” project. Instead, it has grown into one of the Middle East’s most emblematic buildings and a testament to Dubai’s global appeal to visitors.

According to Mr Lawless, British tourists still represent the Jumeirah Group’s majority share of guests in terms of nationality, underscoring the strong commercial and cultural ties between Dubai and the UK.

The group currently runs three hotels in London and Mr Lawless says that the company would like to grow its footprint in the capital and in the wider UK, including in the North of England and Scotland, on an “opportunistic” basis.

“We would be very interested to see which other cities would sustain a Jumeirah hotel,” says Mr Lawless in an interview in his 11th floor suite in the Jumeirah Carlton Towers in Belgravia. “Edinburgh would be very interesting for us and Manchester for sure.”

But as in Dubai, for tourism to continue to grow in the UK the country will have to continue to invest in a world class infrastructure, including in the expansion of one of the major hub airports near London. However, the decision on whether to expand either Heathrow or Gatwick could be years away and Britain is already falling behind other global aviation hubs including Dubai, which has just approved the $32bn (£19.6bn) expansion of the emirate’s second airport. The UK is in danger of falling dangerously behind.

“I think that definitely, if I had my way, that a third runway in Heathrow is essential and second runway at Gatwick is required,” says Mr Lawless.

Although Sir Howard Davies, head of the independent Airports Commission, has ruled out building both until 2050 at least, Mr Lawless says: “You need both. I do not know why they keep thinking that it’s one or the other.”

Another area of concern for Mr Lawless and others in the industry is the visitor visa process – not just in the UK but also across Europe – which, he argues, needs to be streamlined along the lines of the US online system known as ESTA, or Electronic System for Travel Authorisation.

“It’s not a question of whether places like Dubai will take visitors away, it’s much more what the governments of the EU and very much the UK will do to facilitate this travel,” said Mr Lawless. “We’re not saying ‘open your borders and don’t worry about immigration’.

“What we’ve been saying is that governments should think firstly about a common platform for visit visas, just like the US has done with ESTA.”

In Dubai, Jumeirah is itself going through a fresh growth spurt after the sheikhdom, which was hit hard through the financial crisis, has recovered strongly. A 435-room extension of its Madinat Jumeirah property is underway and the company has the go ahead to expand the adjacent Jumeirah Beach hotel.

“Dubai worked hard during those years to refinance itself and reorganise itself and at the same time not lose sight of the need to continue on the growth pattern,” he said.

A key turning point in the business mood in the emirate came last year when it won the right to host the World Expo in 2020.

The ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum has set a target for Dubai to attract around 20m visitors by the end of the decade, up from around 11m at present.

“We continue to evolve and develop. The awarding of Expo 2020 to Dubai was really one of the catalysts and a huge turning point in that there was a massive celebration when it happened. For all the years I have lived in Dubai I have never seen the entire community coming together in such a way. Everyone wanted Expo 2020 for the UAE and for Dubai.”

Outside its core market in the Middle East, Jumeirah is aggressively expanding its footprint in Asia and Mr Lawless is enthusiastic about the opportunities opening up in India, especially after the election of the pro-business Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We have really big hopes for the economic development in India,” he said. “We have two hotels about to start construction, one in Mumbai and one in Goa, and we hope to get more. Look at the very business friendly government that is in power at the moment and what it is doing to try to improve the economy of India and improve the wealth of its citizens. Like China it has a rising middle class and these people will increasingly want to travel.”

Article Source: The Telegraph

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 2

Latest Images

Trending Articles



Latest Images