Tarek Elsherif

• Give us your assessment of the hospitality industry in the Middle East region.

  The hospitality industry in the Middle East has been through some tough time in the past couple of years and there are a lot of signals of recovery this year, as we have seen increase in occupancy in all hotels in the first quarter and there has been healthy demand despite the fact that are some turbulences in some major destinations in the MENA region. InterI believe that MENA as an over all will see good and strong “ come back “.

  
  
  

  

  Tarek Elsherif

• What unique areas are you investing in?

  As a hotel operator we are investing now more on training and re-branding of the company to bring the services level to international standards, and we believe that investing in people is the right way to bring services and standards to where they should be, regardless of being a Dry hotel operators or not, on the other hand, we are searching to invest in owned hotels in the UAE via our mother company to support our expansion and branding plan.

• What is the reasoning behind your investment in operating dry hotels?

  There is a remarkable increase in demand for dry hotels in the region, not only form regional business point of view, but also from beyond and we have seen excellent demand from some Asian countries, on the other hand, we believe that a Dry hotel operation is not a criteria of selection by its self, as we have seen more business travellers from Europe using Dry hotels for other reasons such as location, good service and quality.

• Is there much competition in this area?

  There is an increasing competition in this area not limited to regional or local hotel operators but it also goes to International hotels chains that are either operating few hotels in their portfolio that are Dry or even creating new brands to match with increasing demand of owners to operate dry hotels, this makes the completion very tough and healthy in the meantime.

• How does ATM feature in your plans for the year ahead (as an Exhibitor)?

  ATM has always been and will always be the most important trade show in the MENA region and we always find it as a great platform to launch business and to attract new clients to the region, we cannot afford not being there regardless of the level of representation we have. This year we are participating under the umbrella of the ADTA, being an Abu Dhabi based company, and we are keeping an eye on future years to have our own corporate stand as part of our development plans.

• What are you most looking forward to in 2011?

  I’m looking for more stable business environment and healthy recovery of the hospitality industry in the Region.