UAE: HMH anticipates in approaching WHTS 2015

Gearing up to spread the word, HMH – Hospitality Management Holdings has announced its participation at The World Halal Travel Summit & Exhibition (WHTS15) which is taking place in Abu Dhabi from October 19-21.

CEO, HMH, Laurent Voivenel commented on the news: “As a pioneer in creating the region’s first HMH-WHTSinternational halal-friendly chain of hotels, we are proud to participate and sponsor WHTS15. The full potential of the halal market is yet to be realised and events such as WHTS15 are an ideal forum to meet global buyers and travel trade to capitalise on tourism opportunities in this niche segment.

“At HMH we have taken a ‘Halal-friendly’ and not ‘Halal-only’ approach. Our strategy has been to position ourselves as a perfect choice for both regional and international corporate and leisure travellers including families and single female guests seeking safe and healthy environment,” he further added.

Industry reports have revealed that due to demand, halal-friendly hotels will continue to claim a bigger market share.

Laurent explained that HMH is eager to expand its footprint within this fruitful sector and is keen to have a bigger share of market as well as raise awareness among hotel developers and owners about the opportunities, while shedding light on the company’s strengths in this particular segment.

He said: “The biggest growth in halal tourism is being seen in the mid-market segment. And our strategy is to expand aggressively in this segment with a target of boosting our existing portfolio of hotels by 30 per cent over the next five years. This will include having a hotel in every GCC country while doubling our portfolio in the UAE and KSA.

“We also have a strong interest in the booming Asian markets such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia and China. Given the experience we have, at HMH we are uniquely positioned to capitalise on both halal-friendly and mid-market hotels having been successful in penetrating these segments early,” Voivenel concluded.