Meraas, a Dubai-based holding company, has established a new entity that will introduce, operate and manage different brands of hotels.

Meraas Hotels & Resorts falls under the umbrella of Meraas Hospitality, a division within the holding group that was established to oversee the company's portfolio in the hospitality sector.

Meraas operates with a mission to create a portfolio of world class products. Each Meraas development has artistically added to Dubai's cityscape, delivering themed, comprehensive live-work-play spaces that are at once timeless and futuristic in their appeal. Strategic location, bespoke architectural design and eclectic choice of partners are the hallmark of each development, ensuring their high uptake and popularity among residents and tourists alike.

The new entity will integrate with businesses and destinations developed by Meraas, as well as manage hotels of independent developers or owners seeking an innovative partner in the hospitality sector.

Abdulla Al Habbai, group chairman of Meraas, said: "Meraas is committed to identifying unique opportunities in the market that contribute to achieving the UAE Vision 2021 launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to position the UAE among the best countries in the world. In establishing Meraas Hotels & Resorts, we aim to capitalise on our strong portfolio of projects and the positive market trends projected for the tourism sector to establish new benchmarks in the hospitality industry."

In order to meet the growing demand from the projected tourist influx, Dubai will need 140,000-160,000 hotel rooms by 2020. A recent report published by Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing for the first half of 2015 noted that as of June 2015, Dubai accounted for 667 hotel establishments and a total of 94,936 hotel rooms - an increase of 5 per cent and 7 per cent respectively over the same period in 2014. The report also highlighted that Dubai received 7.2 million international tourists in H1 2015. – TradeArabia News Service