Updated: March 16, 2026
Skift Take
Minor International is confident in a rebound of travel to the UAE and is planning for a franchise-driven doubling of Middle East properties before 2030.
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Guest bookings at properties run by UAE hotel operator Minor International are seeing “a slight uplift in the fourth quarter,” an executive has told Skift.
Although bookings to the Gulf region have nosedived since the Iran war started, Amir Golbarg, COO for the Middle East and Africa at Minor International, sees glimmers of hope.
“As flight routes reopen for evacuations, you suddenly see a vacuum of departures, and that impacts short-term demand,” Golbarg told Skift. “While we’ve seen major cancellations at our properties in the first and second quarters, we’ve also seen a slight uplift in the fourth quarter. People are rebooking instead of canceling completely, and new bookings are coming in.”
Minor Hotels, whose brands include Anantara, Avani, Oaks and NH Collection, is headquartered in Thailand, operating 640 hotels across 59 countries. Its 18 hotels in the UAE have 3,600 keys. UAE properties include Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort and
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