The Elaf Group of Companies has announced the commencement of construction of four new hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The total construction cost of these new projects has been valued at SAR400 million ($106 million) and will be located across Jeddah, Makkah and Madina. The announcement follows Elaf Group’s recent achievement of a 30 per cent revenue increase during the first quarter of 2012 over the same quarter last year, and has given the Group the confidence to double the number of its hotel rooms to 5,000 before the end of the year.
“The announcement of these four new projects is in line with our efforts to expand our investment portfolio. The new hotels, which are aimed for completion from 2012 to 2014 depending on property, include the ‘Elaf Bakkah’ and the ‘Elaf Al Kawthar’ in Makkah; the ‘Elaf Galleria’ in Jeddah and another hotel in Madina to be named later. We will remain steadfast in our commitment to support the government’s move to promote Saudi tourism and help the sector become a major contributor to the country’s economy” said, Ziyad Bin Mahfouz, president of Elaf Group.
“The Elaf Group will not only continue to play a vital role for local and regional tourism development, but also across international tourism markets. We will continue to offer world class tourism products and services that are in line with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). Our ultimate goal is to strengthen the Kingdom’s presence and position in the international tourism market, making it a prime global tourist destination,” concluded Bin Mafouz.
The Group recently opened two new hotels in Al Madina Al Munawara to address high demand for rooms for the Hajj and Umrah season. The Al Bustan and the Al Nakheel Hotels, which opened in April offer a total of 279 rooms and fall in line with their thrust to play a major role in the Kingdom’s constant efforts to develop and strengthen the tourism industry.