Muscat: AccorHotels, an international hotel chain, has signed a management agreement with Al Anwar Holdings SAOG on Monday for its brand new hotel – Novotel Muscat Azaiba. The agreement was signed by Massoud Al Harthy, Chairman of Al Anwar Holdings SAOG, with chief executive officer of AccorHotels at the Tulip Inn (Ruwi) Hotel, under the auspices of Ahmed bin Nasser Al Mahrizi, Minister of Tourism.
Located in close proximity to Muscat International Airport, the upcoming Mall of Oman and Madinat Al Irfan development, Novotel Muscat Azaiba provides convenient access to key business and leisure destinations in Muscat.
“As Oman takes great strides in economic diversification, we see a major opportunity to grow our portfolio through a focus on hospitality. The location of Novotel Muscat Azaiba on the Sultan Qaboos Road near Oman’s prestigious international convention centre positions it as a unique offering in the market,” said Masoud bin Humaid Al Harthy.
“Partnering with AccorHotels was a natural choice for our move into hotel development, as we aim to work with a team who has strong track record and reputation as a leading travel and lifestyle group in the Middle East,” added Al Harthy.
Novotel Muscat Azaiba offers 200 spacious rooms, a fully-equipped gym, spa and swimming pool. A variety of dining options will be on offer, including a lobby lounge and all-day dining restaurant. Besides, Novotel Muscat Azaiba will have meeting rooms for medium to large scale gatherings. The project will also offer serviced managed offices for foreign investors and travelers to work and stay together in the same place.
“The tourism sector is expected to get a shot in the arm with the opening of a state-of-art airport in Muscat at the beginning of next year, while new routes of Oman Air and budget carrier Salam Air will help to attract tourists from within the region and other international destinations,” said Al Harthy.
The Sultanate, like other GCC states, is expanding capacity at the airports and developing infrastructure to complement the government push for boosting visitor traffic, thus providing a major incentive for increasing hotel capacities. The new state-of-the-art terminal at the Muscat airport has a capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum, which can be scaled up to 24 million, 36 million and 48 million in different phases if needed.
Al Harthy noted that the National Strategy for Tourism 2040 aims at making the Sultanate as one of the most important tourism destinations with a robust 6 per cent annual growth in tourism revenue, besides doubling the number of tourists to five million visitors by 2040.
In the Middle East region, AccorHotels operates more than 100 hotels, which have a combined strength of more than 31,000 rooms. In addition, 90 hotels are under different stages of development across the region, which fall under luxury-to-economy segment. The hotel chain is expected to double in size, bringing over 50,000 rooms in operation in the Middle East region.
Novotel Muscat Azaiba will be operated under Al Anwar Hospitality SAOC a wholly-owned subsidiary of Al Anwar Holdings SAOG. Founded in 1994, Al Anwar Holdings is one of the leading investment holding companies listed on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM). The company has a team of experienced professionals, who have rich experience spanning over two decades.
Al Anwar was formed with a mandate to identify, promote and participate in business ventures, leasing, insurance and financial services. The company has invested in power, oil and gas, glass, paints, computer stationery, castings, construction, infrastructure and packaging for fast moving consumer goods industry.
