Trend among European
expats in the Middle East to double up on holidays over the summer period; Spain
one of the most popular destinations for a ‘bonus’ holiday either side of visiting
their home country
Why have one holiday when
you can have two? That’s the mantra many of the Middle East’s European expats
are championing, according to Preferred Hotels & Resorts, which is seeing a
marked rise in the number of travellers tagging an additional summer break onto
their annual trip back home to see the family.
“Analysing the booking data
of our Western iPrefer members residing in the Middle
East has shown that there is a growing trend for multi-stop summer holidays, with Spain topping the
list of preferred stop-offs in 2016,” said Saurabh Rai, Executive Vice
President, Preferred Hotels & Resorts. “On top of factoring in quality time
in their home countries with friends and family, travellers are choosing to
make the most of excellent flight links and great deals to add another leg to
their trip.”
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| saurabh-Rai. |
The world’s largest global
provider of sales, marketing and distribution services to independent luxury
hotels, Preferred Hotels & Resorts examined the booking behaviour of its European
iPrefer members in Middle East. Enjoying instant benefits including swapping points earned for free nights, room
upgrades, free Internet and priority check-in and late check-out, iPrefer members
have access to 600 distinctive hotels,
resorts, residences and unique hotel groups across 85 countries. This includes
28 hotels in Spain including the five-star,
84-room Monument Hotel in Barcelona, which launched in March 2016 and
is home to the two-Michelin starred Restaurante Lasarte by
seven-Michelin-star chef Martin Berasategui. Another new property tempting
holidaymakers is the Only YOU Atocha in Madrid, which will launch in mid-July 2016,
featuring 206 rooms and 14 suites with a rooftop terrace high above the buzzing
Atocha district.
“It
comes as no surprise that Spain is a popular choice for a rejuvenating secondary
leisure break,” said Rai.
“It is easily accessible, affordable and safe with guaranteed sunshine. Launching
two new properties in the country this year has enabled us to accommodate the growing
demand for a Spanish sojourn and our range of iPrefer benefits makes it even
more financially viable for families on the move.”
Aside from being able to experience
a number of impressive hotels through iPrefer, convenient flight links are
helping to boost Spain’s credentials as a coveted holiday destination. Dubai-based
Emirates, which flies to more than 150 destinations around the world, offers daily
routes to Barcelona and Madrid; Abu Dhabi based
Etihad Airways connects to 10 destinations in Spain; and Qatar Airways, which also now
connects to more than 150 destinations worldwide, offers non-stop flies from
Doha to key Spanish cities Barcelona and Madrid.
Globally, Preferred Hotels
& Resorts generated more than US$1 billion in revenues for its member
hotels in 2015, a 15% improvement over the same reporting period in 2014. The company recently entered into a master partnership agreement with Katara
Hospitality in Qatar to represent its standalone hotel operating division,
Murwab Hotel Group. To date, the partnership has embraced four of Murwab Hotel
Group’s existing luxury hotels in Qatar and Switzerland with five additional
properties in London and the Middle East set to come on stream in 2018. Another
recent signing incudes Nassima Royal Hotel located opposite Dubai World Trade
Centre.
For
more information on Preferred Hotels & Resorts, its member hotels, programmes,
products, and services, visit www.PreferredHotels.com.
