Barcelo Hotel Group is set to invest over $400 million in 2024 as part of its expansion plan in its Middle East, Africa and Türkiye (MEAT) region.
The Spanish company plans to grow its presence through the acquisition of new hotels, the refurbishment of existing properties, as well as through repositioning projects.
During the year, Barcelo will implement a phased pipeline of property openings in international and regional source markets including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Türkiye.
The company will open its debut property in Bahrain in the second half of 2024, a 195-key hotel in the country’s capital city of Manama. In the UAE, the Occidental Al Jaddaf will undergo a revamp under the Barcelo hotel brand and will open as the Barceló Al Jaddaf in the fourth quarter of the year.
Barcelo also plans to expand its portfolio in Turkiye, and this month will open a fourth property with a five-star hotel under the Barceló brand in Cappadocia, as well as seek investment opportunities across Türkiye’s urban travel destinations such as Izmir, Bursa, Konya, Antalya and Bodrum.
The company will also debut its Occidental Hotel & Resorts brand in Morocco with a 170-key four-star hotel in Tangier, and will also invest over $85 million in acquisitions and refurbishments of two five-star hotels under its flagship Royal Hideaway Hotels & Resorts and Barceló brands in Casablanca and Rabat respectively.
Barcelo is also growing its presence in Madeira, Portugal with the recent acquisition of two hotels in Funchal; and Spain with the inauguration of the Royal Hideaway Corales Villas on the island of Tenerife, planned for the second half of 2024.
What they said
José Canals, managing director for Middle East, Asia, Mediterranean and North Africa at Barceló Hotel Group said: “In 2023, we experienced incredible success across our global portfolio. Building on this, we have outlined a strategic expansion approach that will support growing our footprint across thriving global travel destinations.”