JEDDAH — Asian hospitality group Dusit International has signed a joint venture agreement in Saudi Arabia in a bid to expand its footprint in the Gulf region. Dusit International said in a statement that it has agreed a hotel management agreement with Saudi-based Dyar Hotels and Resorts to formally establish a joint venture company. Hotels operated by the new company will be managed in a Shariah-compliant manner, the statement said. It added that the company already has three projects confirmed in its pipeline, one of which will be located in Jeddah under the Dusit Thani label. The other two projects, to be located in both Jeddah and Doha, will come under the company's dusitD2 brand, whose newest hotel recently opened in Nairobi, Kenya. A further five properties are currently under negotiation in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, which together form the largest tourism market within Saudi Arabia. In 2014 alone, the cities collectively welcomed 18 million visitors and this number is expected to surge to 23 million by 2020. Dusit International comprises four hotel brands - Dusit Thani, dusitD2, Dusit Princess and Dusit Devarana. It also operates Dusit Residences and its own signature Devarana Spa. — SG
