Jumeirah strengthens foothold in China

DUBAI-BASED luxury hotel chain, Jumeirah Group, is set to augment its presence in Greater China with new hotels over the next three to five years and a new business development personnel.

The 205-room Jumeirah Guangzhou will open next year, followed by the 139-room Jumeirah Thousand Islands Lake Resort, Qiandaohu; the 250-room Jumeirah Hangzhou; the 250-room Jumeirah Clearwater Bay Resort, Sanya; and the 250-room Jumeirah Macau.

Akram Touma, general manager of Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel Shanghai, which opened in March 2011 and is achieving 75 per cent occupancy rate, said: “The Jumeirah brand is very strong among the Chinese, especially among affluent travellers.”

Half of the hotel’s business is contributed by domestic travellers.

When asked whether the group intends to restart plans to launch its trendier label, VENU, a brand that Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel Shanghai was supposed to adopt, Touma said: “We want to have a strong foothold in the key cities before we consider our second brand. There are no plans to bring VENU to China at this stage.”

Jumeirah Group has also increased its sales presence in Asia with the appointment of Selena Xu as business development manager in Beijing to develop the northern Chinese market.

Meanwhile, the group will unveil four new hotels beyond China this year – the Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa in Mallorca, Spain; Jumeirah Bilgah Beach Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan; Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa, Kuwait; and Jumeirah Creekside in Dubai, the UAE.

Reporting by Patricia Wee

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