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  Accor expects Dubai hotel recovery by mid-2026

  17 July 2026

  

   

  Paris-headquartered hotel operator Accor expects Dubai’s hotel market to return to pre-conflict occupancy levels by the end of the first quarter or early second quarter of 2027, with room rates lagging the volume recovery by several months.

  Duncan O’Rourke, chief executive for the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific at the hotel operator (pictured right), said the group had maintained profitability across its Dubai portfolio during the conflict period through cost control and revenue management, but acknowledged that rates and occupancy had fallen materially from January and February levels.

  “There is no question that this crisis affected Dubai,” O’Rourke said at a media briefing in Dubai on 26 June. “As for occupancy in Dubai, we managed – through profit protection and cost control – to keep the hotels in a positive position, so we weren’t losing money.”

  He said the arrival of the summer low season provided a degree of relief. “If there is a time to slowly slide out of this crisis, it is the right time, which is now. What I see going forward is that volumes will come back. You will not have the rates immediately that you had in January and February. By the end of Q1 or Q2 next year, I think you will get close to where we were.”

  Luxury first

  O’Rourke said the luxury and upper-upscale segment was likely to lead the recovery, consistent with the pattern observed after previous crises.

  “Generally, when you have a crisis, the first segment to click back quicker is the high-end luxury. People then think: it is not about whether I should go – it is, let’s go. We saw that in Covid. Fairmont is well positioned to do that, and the Sofitel and Maison brands are in the stage of recovery going forward.”

  Jean-Jacques Morin, group deputy chief executive at Accor (pictured right), said the UAE’s underperformance had been contained within Accor’s broader international portfolio that continued to grow.

  “The Middle East is about 10% of the network,” he said. “That also explains why my tone on the capability of the results is so positive – not only do you have the hedging across geographies, but it is also, in the end, only one part of the business.”

  Rate outlook

  Morin dismissed concerns that the conflict had structurally weakened Dubai’s pricing power, drawing a parallel with the period following Covid-19.

  “When we came out of Covid, everybody said those prices would never hold. The question at every analyst call was always the same: your pricing strategy is unsustainable. Guess what? Nothing changed. The prices now, three or four years later, are still the same.”

  He argued that consumers consistently prioritise travel expenditure when reallocating budgets. “What you see when the economy goes sideways is that people reallocate disposable income differently. People are basically redirecting the way they do things and keeping the same amount they want to spend, but spending it differently.”

  Morin also said Dubai has a track record of outpacing expectations after previous disruptions. “The first part of the world, post-Covid, that came back to positive RevPAR was the Middle East – it was Dubai. People forget that. The capacity of this part of the world to rebound, and the capacity of the industry to rebound in general, is always misunderstood.”

  No pullback

  Accor said it had not paused or cancelled any development commitments in the region as a result of the conflict. “We did not change anything from a strategic perspective,” Morin said. “The last thing you want is to pull back, because this is going to rebound.”

  The group has also used the period to accelerate planned refurbishments and redeploy staff across the region rather than reduce headcount.

  “We have 380 hotels here – we are the largest player in the Middle East. Where we accelerated refurbishments, we were able to take key employees and move them to larger hotels elsewhere in the region. What people learned during Covid was the cost of layoffs afterwards – bringing people back and retraining them. There was a massive learning curve. This time, discussions with partners about layoffs were less challenging; it was more about accommodating staffing needs during that period,” O’Rourke said.

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  READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

  Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

  Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

  > AGENDA: Gulf aviation ambitions face uncertain future > AIRPORTS: Dubai and Riyadh reaffirm airport ambitions > MARKET FOCUS: Levant recovers in three speeds  > INDUSTRY REPORT: Dubai eyes tourism sector recovery > INTERVIEW: EtihadWE prepares roadmap for future projects  > PROJECTS MARKET: Mena project momentum holds despite conflict  > DATA CENTRES: Big Tech falls short on data centre promise > SAVINGS: Retirement creates multibillion-dollar opportunity for region   > LEADERSHIP: Aramco’s citizen developers accelerate digital change

  To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

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  Colin Foreman
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  Qatar seeks to establish new industrial area in Mesaieed

  16 July 2026

  Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce & Industry and state enterprise QatarEnergy have signed an agreement to cooperate on evaluating and allocating hydrocarbon-derived resources to support the establishment of a new medium industries area in Mesaieed Industrial City.

  Under the terms of reference signed between the parties, QatarEnergy will implement a governance mechanism for the allocation of hydrocarbon-derived feedstock to qualifying industrial investment opportunities for the proposed new medium industries area in Mesaieed Industrial City.

  “The agreed terms of reference stipulate the evaluation and allocation of hydrocarbon-derived resources, natural gas, power and related natural resources to downstream derivative industrial investment opportunities,” QatarEnergy said in a statement.

  “It will also ensure the optimal use of national resources and enhance the added value of the industrial sector by establishing a joint governance framework to evaluate and allocate resources required by qualified industrial investment opportunities,” it added.

  QatarEnergy currently operates crude oil refining facilities, including natural gas liquids units, as well as petrochemical production complexes and other units in the hydrocarbon value chain, in Mesaieed Industrial City, situated around 45 kilometres south of Doha.

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  Indrajit Sen
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  Bahri signs deal for two offshore vessels with Dubai shipyard

  16 July 2026

  Bahri Logistics, a division of Saudi Arabia’s national shipping company Bahri, has placed an order for the construction of two advanced offshore support vessels with Dubai-based Grandweld Shipyard.

  Grandweld will custom-build the two vessels to meet Bahri’s operational requirements for offshore activities at Ras Tanura port in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s busiest oil and gas bunkering and export hubs.

  The vessels will be built at Grandweld’s shipyard in Dubai Maritime City and are expected to be delivered in August, following a 12-month building period.

  The vessels will feature the latest navigation and safety technologies. They are designed to perform multiple offshore support functions, including vessel clearance, crew changes and emergency response, while adhering to international maritime standards.

  The newbuild agreement with Grandweld aligns with Bahri’s broader strategy “to modernise its fleet, enhance technical capabilities, and adopt more energy-efficient and environmentally responsible designs”.

  “Through continued investments in technology, infrastructure and fleet diversification, Bahri Logistics aims to deliver smarter, more sustainable logistics solutions that contribute to the Saudi Green Initiative and the kingdom’s long-term economic diversification goals,” the Saudi Stock Exchange-listed (Tadawul) company said in a statement.

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  Indrajit Sen
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  Egypt intensifies efforts to create petroleum stockpile

  16 July 2026

  Egypt is intensifying its efforts to secure and maintain a sufficient strategic stockpile of petroleum products, according to a statement from the country’s cabinet and its Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources.

  The Egyptian government is closely monitoring regional developments and their potential repercussions on the energy sector, according to the statement.

  Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that the government is implementing flexible plans and looking at alternative scenarios so that it can respond quickly to emergencies while ensuring the uninterrupted supply of fuel to citizens and key industrial sectors.

  Egypt is intensifying its efforts to build up strategic stockpiles amid heightened uncertainty about future global oil and gas supplies.

  Since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, there has been significant disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which is a key transit route for oil and gas exports from the Middle East.

  On top of this, the regional war has involved multiple direct attacks on refineries in the GCC, increasing uncertainty about the future availability of refined products.

  Aside from Motafa Madbouly, the meeting was also attended by Hassan Abdullah, who is governor of the Central Bank, Minister of Finance Ahmed Koguk and Minister of Petroleum and Minerals Karim Badawi.

  During the meeting, Badawi gave a presentation on the available quantities of different petroleum products and explained the details of the procedures currently being implemented to increase the strategic stock of petroleum products.

  A review of the coordination framework and joint work between the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank also took place during the meeting.

  This was in order to ensure the management of financial tools needed to strengthen the country’s strategic inventory, according to the statement.

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  Wil Crisp
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  Tunisia orders $86m of trainsets from Chinese supplier

  16 July 2026

  Tunisian public transport operator Transtu has finalised an $86m agreement with China’s CRRC Nanjing Puzhen.

  CRRC will supply 18 new electric trainsets for the capital’s northern suburban rail network, which links Tunis to La Goulette and La Marsa.

  Each new trainset will be air-conditioned and capable of carrying up to 400 passengers, including 90 seated riders, with a top speed of 100 km/h. Once operational, the trains are expected to run at six-minute intervals during rush hour and every 12 minutes during off-peak hours.

  The deal forms part of a broader fleet renewal effort by Transtu, which has struggled in recent years with operational setbacks that have taken a toll on the quality of public transport across Greater Tunis.

  The acquisition is designed to boost capacity on the heavily used line as ridership continues to grow, while also enhancing safety standards and overall service quality.

  Funding for the project comes jointly from the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development and the European Investment Bank.

  Beyond the trainsets, the contract includes five years of maintenance coverage, a supply of spare parts and maintenance equipment, and an underfloor wheel lathe aimed at improving long-term fleet reliability.

  This latest investment fits into Tunisia’s larger railway modernisation strategy, under which the government plans to invest $12bn by 2040 to expand and upgrade the country’s rail infrastructure.

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  Yasir Iqbal