WEST BANK: The Palestinian territories get their first international luxury five-star hotel, with a branch of the Swiss hotel chain Moevenpick opening in the West Bank city of Ramallah

Record ID: 561458

  • Title: WEST BANK: The Palestinian territories get their first international luxury five-star hotel, with a branch of the Swiss hotel chain Moevenpick opening in the West Bank city of Ramallah
  • Date: 4th November 2010
  • Summary: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (OCTOBER 31, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIOR OF MOEVENPICK HOTEL IN RAMALLAH VIEW OF RECEPTION AREA DECORATIVE BAUBLES SEATING IN RECEPTION AREA EATING AREA/MAN WATERING PLANTS VARIOUS OF DINING AREA KATREENA KHALIL, PUBLIC RELATIONs AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (English) KATREENA KHALIL, PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, SAYING: "Also over looking the situation here in Ramallah sometimes we need a little flavour to the lifestyle of the city. It's very vibrant city, a cosmopolitan scene, so we thought it would be a very nice idea to have to add little flavour to the community itself press clubs, business women clubs, yoga sessions, cooking classes to make use of something to add something to the lifestyle of the city; adding it to the community itself here in Ramallah because we are not only catering for the business world we're also catering for the people in general, people of Ramallah people of Palestine." HOTEL BAR BEER TAP (SOUNDBITE) (English) KATREENA KHALIL, PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, SAYING: ''The capital of the hotel is around 42.6 million U.S dollars, and the only company is the Arab Hotels Corporation and of course the Moevenpick here is the managing company behind the management the hotel itself as in everywhere else in the world." HALLWAY HOTEL ROOM LAMP ON TABLE VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN MINISTER OF TOURISM KHOLOUD DAIBES IN HER OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MINISTER OF TOURISM KHOLOUD DAIBES, SAYING: ''Moevenpick is a fire star hotel which provides services for things like conferences, and it will attract tourists, those coming for conferences and work. But it also attracts tourists who want a better service from hotels, and the service is better in five star hotels. DAIBES' HANDS MORE OF DAIBES AT HER DESK VARIOUS OF HOTEL POOL AREA
  • Embargoed: 19th November 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Travel / Tourism
  • Reuters ID: LVA1VULMMM9AYDW8UHNDQU1T1IEG
  • Story Text: The Palestinian territories get their first international luxury five-star hotel, with a branch of the Swiss hotel chain Moevenpick opening in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
    The West Bank's first luxury hotel opened in Ramallah, with an outdoor pool, fitness area and more than 170 rooms.
    The presence of the newly built Moevenpick hotel shows just how well the West Bank's economy is faring.
    The hotel itself which is located around three kilometres away from the city's shopping area, is managed by a Swiss based company.
    Once a mere village on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Ramallah has seen its population double in the last 10 years and land prices surge, in part due to the fact it falls within the 40 percent of the West Bank where Palestinians can build without Israeli permission.
    The Ramallah construction boom is one of the most obvious signs of West Bank economic growth estimated at an annual rate of 8 percent -- which Palestinian policymakers attribute to relative stability and Western donor support to the Palestinian Authority.
    Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
    The hotel's communications manager, Katreena Khalil, said Ramallah is a 'cosmopolitan' city and the presence of the five star hotel will now add to its appeal.
    ''We thought it would be a very nice idea to have to add little flavour to the community itself press clubs, business women clubs, yoga sessions, cooking classes to make use of something to add something to the lifestyle of the city; adding it to the community itself here in Ramallah because we are not only catering for the business world we're also catering for the people in general, people of Ramallah people of Palestine," said Katreena Khalil in the hotel's foyer.
    Khalil also said the project cost more than 40 million U.S dollars.
    The guests at the hotel will mainly be aid workers and politicians who are working or visiting the area, but it will also cater for tourists and pilgrims visiting the area, especially since the security situation has improved compared to how it was five years ago.
    ''Moevenpick is a fire star hotel which provides services for things like conferences, and it will attract tourists, those coming for conferences and work. But it also attracts tourists who want a better service from hotels, and the service is better in five star hotels,'' said Palestinian Minister Of Tourism, Kholoud Daibes.
    The area has been experiencing a property boom with developers saying property prices have risen by 30 percent in the last two years. Buyers expect prices to go higher, though accurate price surveys do not exist.
    Israel says it has helped revive the Palestinian economy in the West Bank by removing checkpoints, movement restrictions imposed during the Intifada, or uprising, that erupted in 2000 in the Israeli-occupied territory.
    The Intifada partly explains why Ramallah has grown so rapidly. Many Palestinians who worked there but lived elsewhere moved in to avoid the hassle created by Israeli checkpoints, which in the worst days of the violence could seal off a Palestinian town or village for weeks.
    Today, Ramallah's buoyant economy continues to draw Palestinians from other West Bank towns where jobs are fewer. The checkpoints that still generate lengthy traffic queues are those that guard access to Jerusalem.
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