Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s biggest property developer, is investing Dh1.5 billion ($408 million) to transform its hotel portfolio amid a boom in the UAE’s tourism sector.
As part of the strategy, Aldar is partnering with Hilton to operate the Eastern Mangroves hotel in the capital under the Waldorf Astoria brand with new premium rooms and suites, a new retail mix and enhancements to the promenade and marina planned.
It is also revising its entire master plan at Yas Plaza to turn the six-hotel complex into a fully integrated resort that will be operated by IHG’s ‘Vignette Collection’ brand and renamed Straylight Yas, Aldar said on Wednesday, adding that it will be the "largest Vignette Collection resort in the world".
Aldar’s hotel in Al Dhafra region, formerly known as Tilal Liwa, will also be part of the Vignette Collection brand, with new luxury suites and other upgrades. The collection is IHG’s newest luxury and lifestyle brand.
“We see a tremendous opportunity to enhance and reposition our hotel portfolio to meet expected demand in the luxury segment while maximising the revenue potential of each asset,” Talal Al Dhiyebi, group chief executive of Aldar, said.
The UAE has recorded robust growth in its tourism sector as travel demand continues to soar globally. Passenger traffic at the country's airports rose by more than 14 per cent in the first half of 2024 to 71.75 million, the latest data from the General Civil Aviation Authority shows.
The number of arrivals at UAE airports in the first half of the year reached 20,274,694, while departures hit 21,090,750. The number of transit passengers was 30,391,978.
Tourist arrivals in Abu Dhabi are also continuing to grow amid the opening of new Terminal 1 at Zayed International Airport and other attractions in the emirate.
The Emirate's hotels welcomed a total of 2.4 million guests in the first five months of this year, Wam reported in August citing Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi data.
Abu Dhabi's tourism body is planning to invest more than $10 billion in infrastructure as part of its new major tourism strategy, the chairman of the emirate's Department of Culture and Tourism, Mohamed Al Mubarak said in April.
He added that the emirate also aims to grow the number of hotel rooms to 52,000, from the current 34,000, to support the Abu Dhabi Tourism Strategy 2030.
As part of the hospitality transformation programme, Aldar is also undertaking a “major refurbishment and expansion” of the Nurai Island resort.
As part of the plan, Nurai Island’s existing villas, food and beverage options, spa, gym, and beach club will be renovated. This will be followed by a major expansion of the island to cater to additional luxurious villas, a ballroom, a community hub, and a jetty.
In Ras Al Khaimah, the company’s flagship hotels including Rixos Bab Al Bahr and DoubleTree by Hilton Resort and Spa Marjan Island will also be upgraded.
In 2022, the company acquired the DoubleTree Marjan Island, as well as an adjacent beachfront development plot for Dh810 million and Rixos Bab Al Bahr hotel in Ras Al Khaimah in a Dh770 million deal.
“Aldar’s ambitious plans for hospitality mirrors the significant investment under way across the business, guided by a strategy for transformational growth, which is driving rapid expansion and diversification alongside consistent upgrade and optimisation of Aldar’s assets and operating platforms,” the statement added.
Last week, Aldar said it would establish four joint ventures to own and manage real estate assets worth more than Dh30 billion across Abu Dhabi as part of a new partnership deal with Mubadala Investment Company.
As part of the deal, Mubadala and Aldar will create a Dh9 billion retail platform that will own Abu Dhabi’s existing retail assets including Yas Mall and The Galleria Luxury Collection.
The two companies also aim to establish a joint venture to own Dh3 billion worth of income-generating real estate assets at Masdar City, focus on the development of two islands off Saadiyat Island and Yas Island and develop a Dh5 billion Grade A industrial logistics park in Al Falah, near Zayed International Airport.
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Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
The five pillars of Islam
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Price, base / as tested Dh150,900 / Dh173,600
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Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 211hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 1,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
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Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
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Sector: Technology
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The five pillars of Islam
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US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Match statistics
Dubai Sports City Eagles 8 Dubai Exiles 85
Eagles
Try: Bailey
Pen: Carey
Exiles
Tries: Botes 3, Sackmann 2, Fourie 2, Penalty, Walsh, Gairn, Crossley, Stubbs
Cons: Gerber 7
Pens: Gerber 3
Man of the match: Tomas Sackmann (Exiles)
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
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- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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From 5.30pm in the following order:
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Welterweight
Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR) v Gimbat Ismailov (RUS)
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Alexandru Chitoran (BEL) v Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
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Mohamed Ali (EGY) v Marc Vleiger (NED)
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Uefa Nations League: How it Works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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Date of launch: November 2016
Founder: David Tobias
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers
Sector: Technology
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Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars”
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Six large-scale objects on show
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- Torrijos Palace dome
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The five pillars of Islam
