Mubasher: The value of the GCC’s hospitality projects put on hold amount to $80.9 billion, according to BNC Network’s recent report.

The delayed projects represent 55% of the total 1,156 hospitality and tourism developments that are underway in the region, ConstructionWeekOnline said, citing BNC Network’s report.

By the end of March 2018, overall investments of the GCC’s 1,156 hospitality and tourism developments stood at $147.1 billion.

They include 210 projects with a total value of $26.8bn that are in the planning, concept, or design stages, in addition to 492 developments with $39.4bn in investments are in the tender or construction stages.

Moreover, the GCC’s hospitality and tourism developments also comprise140 resort hotels at a value of $50 billion, 724 hotel projects worth $78bn, and 292 hotel apartment developments at a consideration of $19.5 billion.

Most of these hotel projects are implemented in Dubai in a bid to ready the emirate for the major event World Expo 2020, BNC Network’s CEO Avin Gidwani said.

“Dubai is racing against time to deliver a large number of hotel rooms and service apartments, to be able to handle 20 million hotel guests per year and 25 million visitors during Expo 2020,” Gidwani added.

A report by Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) stated that Dubai needs about 40,000 additional hotel rooms to host Expo 2020 Dubai.  

In a related note, it is expected that a slew of tourism projects will be launched in the future as a part of Saudi Vision 2030 after Saudi Arabia has carried out a raft of reforms to revamp its oil-dependent economy, BNC Network’s CEO noted.