Richard Branson to invest in Saudi Red Sea project
Virgin airlines founder Richard Branson will invest in a Red Sea project that aims to turn 50 Saudi Arabian islands into luxury tourism destinations, the Saudi government announced. Branson is the first international investor to commit to the project, Saudi Arabia’s information ministry said, in what officials called ‘a...
5 questions with Bilal Ballout, CEO of BMB chocolate
HN chatted with Bilal Ballout to highlight the latest trends and challenges in the chocolate industry. What are the major challenges you are facing and how are you going about overcoming these? The challenges today come in many different waves. In the past, you could split the demand between clients...
Grand Millennium Al Wahda appoints new GM
Grand Millennium Al Wahda announced the appointment of Enad Tannous as its new general manager. Tannous brings over 21 years of hospitality experience within the GCC region, with almost ten years in senior General Management positions. He joins Grand Millennium Al Wahda directly from Rotana where he also held...
Carlos Malliaroudakis new GM of Intercontinental Jordan
IHG has announced the appointment of Carlos Malliaroudakis as general manager for InterContinental Jordan. He was most recently the general manager of Al Ain Rotana, a five-star hotel in the UAE. He is no stranger to IHG where he spent 15 years of his career progressing through several roles and...
Thomas Cook to open its first own-brand hotel in the UAE this year
Thomas Cook, the British global travel company, announced it will open its first own-brand hotel in the United Arab Emirates later this year. The Ras Al Khaimah Beach Resort will open on November 1, 2017 and is part of Thomas Cook’s plan to open 22 new own-brand hotels around the...
Rotana’s CEO Omer Kaddouri wins ‘Hospitality CEO of the Year’ at CEO Middle East Awards 2017
Rotana, one of the leading hotel management companies in the region with hotels across the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, added yet another prestigious accolade to its long list of accomplishments when its President & CEO Omer Kaddouri was honored with the ‘Hospitality CEO of the Year’ award at the...
Regional master of hospitality: Mohamed Najia
Mohamed Najia The Regional Master Of Hospitality An industry leader in Kuwait and in the MENA region, with over three decades of experience, Mohamed Najia has a repertoire that includes a variety of successes recognized on a regional and global scale As a hospitality and food industry veteran,...
Veteran hotelier Amine Moukarzel dreams big
Let’s Do, Dare and Dream… Together In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with HN, veteran hotelier Amine Moukarzel talks exciting expansion plans, areas of focus and the key differentiators related to services across the regional hospitality industry How is the regional industry currently faring compared to...
Maroun Chedid opens cooking academy
Maroun Chedid opens cooking academy Top Chef Middle East judge, chef Maroun Chedid opens his cooking academy and the Ritage pop-up restaurant before the grand opening of the actual Ritage by Maroun Chedid in mid 2018. Maroun Chedid Cooking Academy The Maroun Chedid Cooking Academy opened...
Ksara’s GM Dikran Ghazal talks strategy
A Toast to an Ancient Art In an interview with Ksara’s new general manager, Dikran Ghazal, HN discussed how far the company has come since inception, where it stands in terms of market share/exports, the strategies it employs and its tactics for catering to Millennials As...
