Al-Assad, prince Al-Walid inaugurate Four Seasons hotel in Damascus
Syria-Saudi Arabia, Business, 3/23/2006

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad inaugurated in Damascus a new 100-million-dollar luxury Four Seasons hotel, whose principal owner is Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Walid Bin Talal.

One of the world's wealthiest men, Bin Talal owns some 200 hotels, including Paris' George V and New York's Plaza. At the inauguration ceremony, he paid tribute to the country, saying he would "continue to invest in Syria despite the pressures" on it.

Syria, which contains a wealth of archeological and historical sites, is experiencing a new upsurge in tourism, even though it is under pressure from the West over its policies in the Middle East.

The 18-story Four Seasons, decorated in Ottoman, Persian and Syrian styles, is located in the center of the capital looking out on the Great Mosque.

It has 297 rooms, 12 residential apartments, three restaurants and a spa.

Bin Talal owns 65 percent of the hotel, while the balance is held by the ministry of tourism and the Damascus municipality.

Syrian Minister of Tourism Saadullah Agha al-Qalaa described the opening of Four Seasons Hotel of Damascus as the latest modern hotel that is built in the oldest inhabited city in history.

Four Seasons Hotel is the first tourist edifice of a top international level which is completely established in the time of President Bashar al-Assad to be one of the distinguished marks of the modernize and development process in the country, Minister of Tourism added during the opening celebration of the Four Seasons Hotel of Damascus.

He underlined that the hotel will add new value to the Syrian tourist identity which will boost its competitive capability and insist its dependence on a high quality of tourist constituency to come up with international tourism.

"Four Seasons Damascus opens a new chapter in this city that is filled with a historical scent this beautiful edifice is an indication of modern Syria," Agha al-Qalaa concluded.

Previous Stories:
  Four Seasons Hotel opens in Damascus   (1/31/2006)
  International investment to be launched in Syria   (8/12/2005)
  Saudi company rebuild al-Hijaz railway line in three years   (1/6/2004)
  Saudi company holds tourism projects in Syria   (2/16/2000)
  Saudi businessman highlights investment climate in Syria   (5/26/1998)

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