The Elaf Group of Companies, a leading travel, tourism and hospitality group in Saudi Arabia, has announced plans to construct four new hotels in key cities Jeddah, Makkah and Madina at a cost of SR400 million ($106.6 million).

The announcement follows Elaf Group’s recent achievement of a 30 per cent revenue growth during the first quarter of 2012 over last year, and has given the group the confidence to double the number of its hotel rooms to 5,000 before the end of the year.

'The announcement of these four new projects is in line with our efforts to expand our investment portfolio,' said Ziyad Bin Mahfouz, the president of Elaf Group.

'The new hotels, which are aimed for completion from 2012 to 2014 depending on property, include the ‘Elaf Bakkah’ and the ‘Elaf Al Kawthar’ in Makkah; the ‘Elaf Galleria’ in Jeddah and another hotel in Madina to be named later,' he stated.

'These projects are part of our continuous efforts to address demands of the increasing number of tourists to the Kingdom. We will remain steadfast in our commitment to support the government’s move to promote Saudi tourism and help the sector become a major contributor to the country’s economy,' he added.

According to the Elaf Group, the company’s robust growth over the first three months of 2012 can be attributed to their continuing initiatives to provide best-in-class tourism services and contribute to the Kingdom’s move towards tourism and sustainable development.

Moreover, the company has reaffirmed its core focus on playing a major part in the country’s efforts towards ‘Saudization,’ which aims to provide more Saudi Nationals with employment opportunities in the tourism sector.

Mahfouz said the Elaf Group will not only continue to play a vital role for local and regional tourism development, but also across international tourism markets.

'We will continue to offer world class tourism products and services that are in line with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). Our ultimate goal is to strengthen the Kingdom’s presence and position in the international tourism market, making it a prime global tourist destination,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service