MENAT*: Middle East, North Africa and Turkey
Millennium & Copthorne, MENAT arrives at Arabian Travel Market 2026 with a development pipeline of 29 projects representing 11,736 keys and residential units across six markets. The group currently operates 41 hotels in 20 cities and locations across the Middle East and Africa, an established operational base underpinning the next phase of regional growth.
The pipeline comprises 5,637 hotel keys and 6,099 residential units, spread across Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Georgia and Oman. Projects already signed are due to open between 2027 and 2029. These figures reflect both the group’s growing geographic coverage and its diversification beyond traditional hotel operation.
An owner-operator model geared towards disciplined growth
These figures illustrate the strategy built around the MENAT platform, established in February 2026 under the leadership of Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi. By bringing the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey together within a unified regional structure, MENAT provides a framework for disciplined growth, strengthening cooperation between markets while supporting the long-term development of the portfolio.
Millennium’s owner-operator model is central to this approach. In a subdued regional market in the first half of 2026 – a period during which Arabian Travel Market was postponed following consultation with exhibitors and stakeholders owing to regional disruption – this model allows the group to approach growth from both an operational and an investment standpoint, assessing opportunities not by the number of properties added, but according to market fundamentals, timing, asset performance and long-term sustainable return potential.
Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, President of Millennium & Copthorne, MENAT, said that difficult markets test the strength of a hospitality business, and that for the group, 2026 confirmed the value of being both owner and operator at once. He said this gives the company the discipline needed to understand where demand is genuinely strong, where capital can be deployed most effectively, and where the right partnerships can create sustainable long-term value. He pointed to signed projects such as the Grand Millennium Sumou Al Madinah in Saudi Arabia and the Grand Millennium New Capital Tycoon Towers in Cairo, Egypt, as representative of the long-term opportunities being pursued across MENAT.
He added that the group’s pipeline of 29 projects is significant, but that scale alone is not the objective, and that what matters is executing the right projects, in the right markets, with the right partners. He described this discipline as central to how the group intends to build sustainable value across MENAT and strengthen its presence in the region.
Branded residences now the largest share of the pipeline
Millennium’s development strategy also extends beyond traditional hotel operation, with residences now accounting for the largest share of the group’s future portfolio. Of the 11,736 units in the current pipeline, 6,099 are residences – more than half of the total. Egypt accounts for the bulk of this diversification, with 5,264 residential units alongside 600 hotel keys spread across nine projects, while the UAE pipeline includes a further 835 residences alongside 842 hotel keys.
Millennium Residences Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, launched in September 2025 as the group’s first branded residence product in the region, illustrates this expanding residential offering and its positioning towards a complementary, hospitality-linked asset class. This move is part of a broader underlying trend in the branded residences segment, whose geographic centre of gravity is gradually shifting towards Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Diversification also extends beyond the physical portfolio. The MyMillennium loyalty programme now operates across three membership tiers – Classic, Silver and Prestige – with the reciprocal partnership agreed in December 2025 with IHCL’s Taj InnerCircle programme and the launch of MyMillennium Kids in July 2026 broadening the loyalty proposition to new markets and customer segments.
MENAT, from strategy to execution
The current pipeline builds on the February 2026 decision to establish MENAT as a unified regional platform, bringing together the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey to support a more coordinated approach to development, operations and long-term growth. This regional governance forms part of a broader renewal of the Millennium & Copthorne Hotels board of directors, undertaken by the CDL group.
Several portfolio milestones have already marked this trajectory: the relaunch of the Al Aqeeq and Taiba properties in Medina in August 2025, the reopening of the Grand Millennium Business Bay in September 2025, and the launch of Millennium Residences Saadiyat Island that same month – the group’s first branded residence product in the region.
The pre-opening and under-construction portfolio includes the Millennium Abha in Abha, the Copthorne Al Basateen in Jeddah, the Copthorne Madinah and the Grand Millennium Sumou Al Madinah in Saudi Arabia; the Grand Millennium Danah Bay in Ras Al Khaimah, the Millennium Talia Residences in Dubai and the Biltmore Residences in Al Sufouh in the United Arab Emirates; the Millennium Al Sahil in Al Qurayyat, Oman; the Grand Millennium New Capital Tycoon Towers in Cairo, Egypt; and a residential project in Georgia. Several of these developments will also mark Millennium’s entry into new cities in the region.
Saudi Arabia stands out as the group’s largest hotel development market within the pipeline, with 11 projects representing 3,579 keys, or 30.5% of total units under development. Egypt remains the largest market by total future unit volume, with 50% of the pipeline spread across nine projects – 600 hotel keys and 5,264 residential units, for a total of 5,864 units.
The United Arab Emirates accounts for six projects and 1,677 units, comprising 842 hotel keys and 835 residences. Iraq, Georgia and Oman share the remaining 616 hotel keys, with 271 keys in Iraq, 285 in Georgia and 60 in Oman.
Saudi Arabia, the bedrock of regional development
Saudi Arabia remains at the centre of Millennium’s growth strategy, driven by the Kingdom’s long-term tourism transformation and the continued resilience of religious tourism. The group’s established presence in Mecca and Medina gives it direct exposure to one of the region’s most resilient demand segments, and its growing pipeline in the Kingdom reflects confidence in the long-term opportunities created by religious, leisure, business and event-related travel flows.
Independent market data confirms this resilience in the holy cities. According to Knight Frank’s 2026 report on hotels and religious tourism in Saudi Arabia, published on 21 June 2026, Mecca remains the Kingdom’s best-performing hotel market, with an ADR of SAR 775 (approximately €177) and RevPAR growth of 4.7% year-on-year, driven by sustained pilgrim demand. Medina also confirms its resilience, with an average occupancy rate of 76% and ADR up 2.7% year-on-year. These figures illustrate the underlying strength of religious tourism demand and the long-term fundamentals supporting hotel sector investment in the Kingdom, a market whose trajectory to 2030 remains underpinned by a substantial national pipeline.
From regional platform to Middle East-wide growth
The MENAT strategy builds on Millennium’s long-standing presence in the Middle East and its already-established operational footprint in the region. With 41 hotels currently in operation across 20 cities and locations in the Middle East and Africa, the group has an established base from which to pursue its next phase of MENAT-wide development.
MENAT is designed to convert the region’s strengths – international connectivity, tourism investment, infrastructure and owner confidence – into a scalable regional growth model, while maintaining discipline on brand standards, operational performance and long-term asset value. For Alzaabi, the owner-operator structure adds a further dimension: as both owner and operator, his assessment of opportunities extends beyond development geography alone to incorporate the fundamentals specific to each investment decision, from return on investment and market timing to supply-demand balance, operational efficiency and portfolio discipline.
Millennium & Copthorne, MENAT will bring this approach to Arabian Travel Market 2026, where the group will engage with owners, investors, partners and the international travel industry on its development pipeline, emerging investment opportunities and the next phase of hotel growth in the region. The show will run from 14 to 17 September at the Dubai World Trade Centre, where Millennium Hotels and Resorts will exhibit in Hall 3, stand HC3010.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Millennium & Copthorne, MENAT unveils 29-project regional pipeline
11,736 units across Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Iraq, Georgia and Oman, split between 5,637 hotel keys and 6,099 residence units
Saudi Arabia leads on hotel keys (11 projects, 3,579 keys); Egypt leads on total units (9 projects, 5,864 units)
Branded residences now account for more than half of the future portfolio, led by Millennium Residences Saadiyat Island
MENAT platform launched February 2026 under President Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, unifying Middle East, North Africa and Turkey operations
Pipeline to be presented at Arabian Travel Market 2026, Dubai World Trade Centre, 14-17 September
