EWA Hotel Apartments Signs Eight New Projects in KSA

	EWA Hotel Apartments signed today a management contract for eight new properties in KSA with Al Hamra Palace Group. Making the announcement at the ATM Mr. Khaled Mohammed Al Abdelwahab, the owner of Al Hamra Palace Group said, ‘We are delighted to sign up with EWA Hotel Apartments. It is a fantastic brand offering the right mix of facilities and services. Our
Click for full view	properties perfectly match the brand
philosophy of EWA and we are confident of having a profitable association.’ All eight properties are already operational and spread across Riyadh City and Jeddah.

A subsidiary of HMH – Hospitality Management Holdings, EWA Hotel Apartments represents a growing niche of lifestyle hotels in the Middle East. Michel Noblet, CEO, HMH said, ‘It is an enormous project and we are truly grateful to the Al Hamra Palace Group for giving us this wonderful opportunity. We look forward to a long-term understanding with Al Hamra and are committed to developing exclusive serviced apartments that cater to both short and long staying leisure and business travelers at competitive rates.’ The EWA Hotel Apartments already has seven hotel apartments in KSA (Riyadh, Al Khobar, Dammam, Jeddah) and Bahrain.

According to the World Tourism Industry, the Middle East continues to be one of the tourism success stories of the decade with an estimated 16% rise to almost 48 million tourists in 2007. The star performers were Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which experienced a surge in international arrivals at 34 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.

Given the economic recession and predicted adverse effects on international travel, Michel Noblet, CEO, HMH, said this particular range of accommodation would be more lucrative to both international and local clientele. ‘Serviced apartments offer the best value for money as these provide 5-star comforts at mid-market prices. EWA Hotel Apartments provide the comfort, flexibility and warmth of a home with the service and convenience of a hotel’.

Furnished apartments in KSA achieved an occupancy rate of 58 per cent in 2008 as compared to hotels which only achieved an occupancy rate of 50.6 per cent, according to a recent statistical report released by the Tourism Information and Research Center of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).

Michel said serviced apartments, which offer the comforts of a home without the hassle of utility bills and rental agreements, suit business travelers, many of whom require a base in the GCC for up to a year at a time. EWA Hotel Apartments are spacious and modern self-contained units ranging from studios to one-to-three-bedroom apartments with a living room and dining area.

In addition to the eight Al Hamra properties, EWA has six other projects in development in KSA and one in Syria. Out of these three would be ready before the end of the year while the remaining are expected to reach completion by March 2010.