Horwath HTL Opens a New Office in Dubai

Dubai, March 4th, 2011

Horwath Hotel, Tourism and Leisure (HTL), the world’s largest hospitality consulting firm, has opened a new office in Dubai. The office is the first for the Horwath HTL group in the United Arab Emirates and represents a significant addition to the network.

The Dubai-based office aims to establish the Horwath HTL brand in the Middle East and to open up and penetrate the highly promising market in the Gulf countries. In addition to Hospitality consulting services, the new Dubai office will focus on strengthening the destination development and planning disciplines within the Horwath HTL network, helping to expand the cooperation with international donor organisations such as the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, and GIZ (‘Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit’).

Thanks to its close relationship with the OBERMEYER Corporate Group, a leading German engineering consultancy, the Dubai-based Horwath HTL office will offer an extended service portfolio, with services from market and feasibility studies and master plans through to engineering design, construction supervision and project management.

TDO’s Managing Director Hannes Scheid becomes Managing Director of the new Horwath HTL office. Hannes is an Industry expert with both comprehensive operational experience in the hospitality industry and a proven track record in Tourism and Master Planning projects. Hannes has already worked extensively throughout the region and sees great potential for the Brand. Hannes said; “Despite the fact that several of the Gulf countries have been hit hard by the financial crisis, the Gulf’s tourism potential has not been fully tapped. The region still boasts lots of tourism opportunities as it benefits from assets such as strategic geographical location, strong GDP growth, a safe environment and a rapidly increasing population.” adding: ‘The Horwath HTL brand, with its rich history and credibility is perfect for the region and we look forward to helping our many clients achieve even greater success'.

Robert Hecker, Chairman of the Horwath HTL network said; “We are delighted to welcome Hannes and his team to the Horwath HTL family and we have great hopes for the region. We have spent a great deal of time looking for the right partner to grow this important economic region and are fortunate to have found the quality of Hannes and his team to join the network.”

About Horwath HTL

Horwath HTL (Hotels Tourism and Leisure) is one of the world’s pre-eminent consulting specialists in the hotel, tourism and leisure industries, providing unequalled experience and expertise for client projects around the world through a combination of detailed local knowledge and international understanding. Horwath HTL is currently the world’s largest consulting organisation specialised in hospitality, with 50 offices in 39 countries.

Horwath HTL is a member of Crowe Horwath International, a professional association of accounting and management consulting firms founded in New York in 1915. Crowe Horwath International is currently ranked among the top ten international professional service groups with offices in close to 586 cities in 108 countries.

If you have any questions, please contact James Chappell, Global Marketing Director at jchappell@horwathhtl.com or Hannes Schied, Managing Director of Horwath HTL Dubai at hschied@horwathhtl.com