Since opening its doors a year ago, the Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, has succeeded in firmly establishing itself as one of the most prominent leisure and business destinations in the region, a senior official of the luxury beachfront property announced.
Addressing a press conference to mark the first anniversary of the hotel, Patrick Antaki, general manager, Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, said that year-round average room occupancy reached a commendable 70 per cent, with average room occupancy during the months of July and August standing at an impressive 85 per cent, a testimony to the hotel's phenomenal success during the first year of operations.
"In 2003 the hotel recorded a substantial increase in leisure travellers from key markets across the GCC as well as Europe, due to our aggressive marketing strategy and participation in events such as the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) and the World Travel Market (WTM) held in London. As a result, we have succeeded in making key inroads into the outbound leisure segment in key European markets."
During the year several new and exciting promotions were launched to entice guests to the East Coast resort such as the highly successful summer promotion, Midweek Medicine, which had to be extended by a month due to the unprecedented demand, and resulted in a marked rise in weekday occupancy.
"This success is expected to continue during the hotel's winter promotion where room rates have been reduced to as little as AED 199 per person with breakfast and lunch or dinner included," added Mr. Antaki.
"One of our greatest achievements during this year has undoubtedly been the opening of our state-of-the-art conference centre in July. We have succeeded in countering the dip in occupancy levels that beach-side properties in the UAE normally face during the summer months by effectively targeting the large Meetings and Incentive (MICE) market segment in and outside the UAE. In fact in 2004, we expect the MICE market to contribute about 30 per cent of all UAE business," he said.
The convention centre features an elegant that covers ballroom covering an area of approximately 500 square metres which can accommodate up to 530 delegates.