JA Resorts & Hotels sees ‘potential to grow’ in UK market

JA Resorts & Hotels’ new sales chief Phil Dickinson wants to “extend the reach” of the brand through the trade by tapping into demand for sports facilities and event spaces while capitalising on multi-generational travel trends.

 

Dickinson joined the hotel chain last month as vice-president of sales, having previously held roles at Qatar Tourist Board, Qatar Airways, Hotelbeds, Jumeirah Group and Sandals International.

 

He stressed the UK was “very important” to the brand, being among the top four markets for most of its properties.

 

“We have a long tradition with the UK and we still see potential to grow. We still want to see more [growth],” he said.

 

There are plans for a trade roadshow later this year, so sales and marketing teams from each of the properties can visit key markets including the UK.

 

On future priorities for the brand, Dickinson said: “A lot of the trade are quite familiar with JA and generate a very loyal repeat customer base [for us], but we have got more of a story to tell in terms of the extent of the three main hotels in our main Jebel Ali resort as well as our other properties. 

 

“We are reinventing ourselves in terms of the amount of activities that clients can do, and we are doing a massive rebrand of our website and elevating the brand to show the full extent of what’s on offer [at all of our properties].”

 

He added: “We want to extend the reach to people that do not know JA. They might have been coming to Dubai to properties on the JBR or the Palm or downtown, and they haven’t heard of us before.”

 

JA Resorts & Hotels has eight locations in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean, and Dickinson promised a “huge” library of images, new brand guidelines and tools for the trade to accompany the upcoming rebrand across all of them.

 

Developments later this year at the Jebe Ali resort will introduce six Fifa-standard football pitches next to the JA Lake View Hotel, as well as two cricket ovals, one of which can be multi-purpose, which will enhance the current sports club offering and allow the hotelier to tap into more sports travel.

 

“The sports piece is a big one,” said Dickinson. “These additions are exciting and put us in the realms of the sports tourism space and we are one of the very few in the region that can offer those extended facilities.

 

“We also have tennis courts, padel courts, golf courses, academies and we are priding ourselves on that sporting excellence to be able to cater for professional, semi-professional or amateurs or school tournaments.”

 

He said the resort was already receiving enquiries about the new development as the site has proved popular in the past with five football pitches for winter training.

 

He added it would also expand more into MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions), events and multi-generational travel, with space and facilities for team-building and reward events alongside a creche, kids club and splash parks for children of all ages.

 

When asked about impacts on bookings and enquiries to Dubai following the Israel-Iran conflict in the Middle East, Dickinson emphasised the destination was “very resilient”.

 

He said: “The Middle East is one of those regions in the world that has been on a growth trajectory for a while now, and not just in Dubai.

 

“I don’t think that’s going to abate, mainly due to the excellent connectivity and all the flights coming in with national carriers, but also international carriers using it as a hub.

 

“There was a little bit of a drop understandably for a few days, but it’s amazing how it bounced back and the Middle East is a very resilient area.”