There is an urgent need to accelerate the development of mid-market hotels in Dubai if the city is to draw 20 million visitors annually by 2020, an industry expert has warned.

Laurent A Voivenel, CEO of Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH), addressed the delegates on the significance of 2020 for the hospitality industry in the UAE and beyond at the Hospitality Expansion Middle East Summit in Dubai, UAE.

Highlighting the need for more mid-market hotels, Voivenel said: "Dubai will need to diversify its hospitality offering in order to widen its appeal to the growing middle class worldwide. Investors must broaden their horizon and consider budget hotels like Ecos Hotels as the hotel market gets stronger. It is a fast growing and highly competitive segment that will reap rich dividends."

“Dubai needs to position itself as a quality value-for-money destination offering both the ultimate in luxury as well as budget hotels and Dubai Expo 2020 is the ideal platform to do so. It is a great opportunity to showcase to the entire world the very best of what the emirate has to offer in terms of hospitality, tourism attractions, infrastructure and technology, therefore, all of us in the industry must deliver on our promises," he said.

Voivenel stressed, "Dubai has developed very well over the last two decades and has multiple demand drivers that has positioned it as a leading leisure and business destination globally. Looking ahead it is only getting better with the city adding more new attractions such as branded theme parks and shopping malls. Massive expansion of airlines including extraordinary growth of low cost carriers has opened new routes and markets thus bringing in more mid-market travellers. Therefore, Dubai will continue to hold strong beyond 2020." – TradeArabia News Service