Dubai: Eight new hotels and serviced apartments will be built over the next five years within Dubai Investments Park (DIP), amid surging demand and growth potential on offer due to the development’s proximity to Al Maktoum Airport and the Expo 2020 site.

The new hotels and serviced apartments, to be built by individual investors, will be of various star categories.

With the new projects, the total number of hotel rooms within DIP will increase to approximately 2,000, which will further boost its lodging capacity and pave the way for additional accommodation for incoming business and leisure travellers to Dubai, besides creating a number of employment opportunities.

According to DIP, these hotels will provide a major boost to the hospitality sector as Dubai expects to attract as many as 25 million visitors during Expo 2020 — to be held between October 2020 and April 2021, including 17.5 million overseas tourists. The emirate will require an additional 45,000 hotel rooms to match the rising demand by 2020 and an investment of nearly $7.1 billion (Dh26 billion) is expected in new hotel projects.

Omar Al Mesmar, General Manager of DIP, said, “Since its inception, Dubai Investments Park has always been the preferred destination for businesses and residents, due to its closeness to Jebel Ali Port and other strategic developments. DIP’s proximity to both Al Maktoum International Airport and the Expo 2020 site is leading to increasing demand for quality hotel and serviced apartment projects to cater to the anticipated tourists flow.”

“The new projects are in line with DIP’s core objective to provide additional choices, better lifestyle services and affordable stay options for residents, visitors and tourists alike — which is integral to Dubai’s overall strategy to boost its tourism potential. At least three more investors who own land in DIP are contemplating entering the hospitality sector with new hotels, which is a testimony to the unprecedented growth potential on offer,” he said.