IHG has signed a management agreement with the
King Abdullah Financial District Management and Development
Company (KAFD DMC), a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public
Investment Fund (PIF), for the first Kimpton hotel in the Middle
East.
Scheduled to open in June 2024, the 212-key
Kimpton Riyadh will be a new-build property in the heart of KAFD,
one of Saudi
Arabia’s prime business and lifestyle destinations.
Set in the heart of the Saudi capital Riyadh,
22-kilometers away from the airport, KAFD is home to 1.6 million
square meters of state-of-the-art office space, world-class venues
and luxury residences.
A landmark development, KAFD is
a key driver of Riyadh’s economic ambitions and is the largest
LEED certified mixed-use financial district in the world. It is
owned and managed by KAFD DMC.
“Saudi
Arabia is one of the few countries in the world that saw a rise in
tourism investment and expenditure during the COVID19 pandemic
with domestic tourism increasing by 33.6% and over SAR80 billion
spent by tourists,” said Gautam
Sashittal, Chief Executive Officer at KAFD DMC. “Now, as the Kingdom cements its presence on the
world stage as a business and leisure destination, these numbers
will be dwarfed. We are delighted to partner with a trusted
management company in IHG, who will enable us to partner
traditional Saudi hospitality with expertise in hotel management,
as we look to make KAFD an essential part of the business
landscape of the Kingdom. Kimpton Riyadh at KAFD will enable us to
welcome diverse visitors for work, leisure or both.”
The
Kimpton Riyadh will feature five F&B options, a variety of
meeting and event spaces, an outdoor amphitheater terrace, a health
club and an outdoor swimming pool.
IHG currently operates 37 hotels across five
brands in Saudi Arabia, including: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza,
Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites, and voco, with 31 hotels in the
development pipeline set to open within the next three to five
years.
“We remain committed
to supporting the tourism goals of Vision 2030 across Saudi
Arabia, and catering to the demands of the growing numbers of
visitors to the Kingdom. We have identified a trend towards
blended travel, with those travelling for work or business also
seeking a lifestyle element to their stay,” said Haitham Mattar,
Managing Director, IHG Hotels & Resorts India, Middle East and
Africa. “As we debut Kimpton Hotels in the
region, we are confident that this luxury lifestyle offering can
meet that requirement and we are looking forward to expanding
further into the region in the coming years.”
