Plaza Premium Group’s Deputy CEO talks about why the Middle East is at the core of the next global wave of travel and tourism, and what operators of airport hospitality services need to know in order to tap this growth.
Bora Isbulan, Deputy CEO of Plaza Premium Group (PPG), joined the airport hospitality enterprise during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in 2020. The health crisis was an unprecedented challenge for the travel industry veteran, who strategized with PPG’s leadership to re-engineer operations and invest in transformative technology to meet dramatic changes in traveller needs and expectations, and to prepare for the resumption of travel once restrictions were lifted.
The Turkish native has recently been appointed to lead PPG’s new strategic office in Saudi Arabia. He brings deep familiarity and relationships in the region, having expanded the group’s global network and established strategic partnerships in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and elsewhere. Bora had a role in the Medina Airport privatization in his former role , the first private-public partnership (PPP) project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he spent three years working in Egypt. He is passionate about the dynamics and opportunities in the Middle East.
Tell us about your career in travel and tourism, and why you chose it
I’ve had a big passion to travel since l was very young. I found it very interesting to experience different cultures, understand history, and interact with different people. In the past l wrote a few travel blogs and articles in Food and Travel Magazine to share my observations of the destinations I found interesting and special.
When l came across a career opportunity in aviation in 2009, l accepted without thinking twice. Since then l have been in the airport and aviation industry, where I have served in various roles such as concession management, commercial master planning, and running non-aeronautical activities of airport groups.
In the last five years, I’ve been part of PPG’s passionate journey to transform airport hospitality and expand globally. I enjoy the dynamism of airports and continuously pushing my limits to think and develop products and services that make people’ s travel easier and happier. Our corporate pillars are people, sustainability and technology, and these are the building blocks of our business.
What does PPG do, and what is its role in the Middle East?
I think most people know of us through the Plaza Premium Lounge brand, which was our genesis product 25 years ago when our founder Mr. Song Hoi-See realized through his own travels as an entrepreneur that most airports were overlooking the 85 percent of air travellers who don’t have access to a lounge because they are not sitting at the front of a plane.
That’s how PPG became the world’s first independent lounge provider, launching in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. Mr. Song, who is also our CEO, is originally from Malaysia and our company is headquartered in Hong Kong, so these locations were a perfect start for us.
Fast forward and we’re in 80 airports, 30 countries, and 250 locations, having gone beyond lounges to terminal hotels Aerotel and Refreshhh by Aerotel, dining outlets under various brands, concierge services ALLWAYS and the global reward and membership program Smart Traveller. We’ve embraced the 360 degrees of airport hospitality as our mission is to make travel better.
We plan to invest US$300 million over three years to expand our global footprint and to be in the world’s 100 busiest airports.
Before all of the exciting tourism developments in the Middle East, we already had the region on our radar and from 2014 have been steadily investing to where we’re now in 15 locations in 8 international airports. Our latest expansion is to invest US$100 million out of the global US$300 million capex in the Middle East, including setting up a strategic office in Saudi Arabia, which I am heading. From this perch, we will build on the portfolio of airport lounges, hotels, and food and beverage outlets spread across key cities such as Amman, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Dubai, and Muscat, and also explore opportunities in Egypt.
EMEA, of which the Middle East is a key area, is a hotbed for travel. PPG plans to strengthen its role as a connector between the Middle East and the region’s most popular destination airports, many of which lie in Europe and Africa.
What are the dynamics of the Middle East market for airports?
Growing up in Türkiye, I’ve always been a fan of doing business in these markets. There is plenty of data about the bullish trend for the Middle East. Here are just a few points:
Saudi Arabia
- The Middle East region is expected to be one of the fastest growing tourism markets globally, with international tourist arrivals projected to increase by 20 percent compared to 2019 levels by the end of 2024.
- Saudi Arabia’s travel and tourism sector is forecast to grow at an average of 11 percent annually until 2028. By 2028, it could contribute nearly SAR 635 billion (around US$169 billion) to Saudi GDP, representing 17.1 percent of the total economy.
- Saudi Vision 2030 is well known. Our strategic office is fully aligned with Saudi Vision 2030. I note that the Kingdom has already surpassed its tourism target of 100 million visitors, achieving it seven years ahead of schedule. Now, Saudi Arabia aims to attract 150 million visitors annually by 2030.
- As part of this vision, the country plans to invest over US$100 billion to solidify its position as a global aviation hub, tripling passenger traffic and expanding connectivity to 250+ destinations by 2030. Notably, US$50 billion of this investment is allocated for airport development.
UAE
- The UAE, particularly Dubai, is aiming to double the size of its economy by 2033 through strategies like the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, with tourism as a key driver.
- Dubai, the world’s second busiest airport, saw 86.9 million passengers passing through the airport in 2023, above pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Work is underway for a new US$35B terminal at Al Maktoum Airport that will be the world’s largest after completion.
- We have shortlisted Dubai Airport as one of our six top lounge locations in the world to showcase the importance of connecting the airport experience with the host city. Our “Your Destination Before Departure” highlights cuisine, customs, culture and traditions within the Dubai lounge, to give our guests a sense of place and connection.
- At the much praised Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport, which unveiled a stunning Terminal A last year, PPG provides services like a hotel, lounge, and meet-and-greet.
Qatar
- Qatar is also rolling out an increasingly busy calendar of art, design and fashion events as part of the push to reach its target of 6 million international visitors annually by 2030, almost three times the number in 2019.
- Qatar wants the tourism industry to contribute 12 percent to its gross domestic product by 2030. Its regional peers, too, have similar ambitions.
- Qatar recently partnered with Saudi Arabia for a “double your discovery” campaign that allows visitors to explore both countries in a single trip. A new, Schengen-style visa, which will grant tourists access to all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, is in the final stages of approval.
It’s truly an exciting time to be an operator of airports and airport services in the Middle East.
How can travel hospitality companies including airport service providers seize the growth opportunities in the Middle East?
PPG was proud to collaborate with ACI World on the ASQ 2023 Global Traveller Survey, which serves as an industry standard for valuable insights directly from the most important stakeholder group – the travellers themselves.
The report focused on five of the most important trends driving today’s consumer expectations and behaviours: the automation of processes and services, the personalization of experiences, the experience through emotional engagement, remote working and digital connectivity, and sustainable consumption.
The survey included respondents from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. A main finding is the increasingly important role that airports play in their communities as well as for travellers. Travellers are looking for newer airport experiences, and expect “a more tailored and increasingly personalized experience”. This is why PPG is introducing fresh features such as making our lounges part of the destination with a “proudly local” approach that infuses art, food, handicrafts and location information.
Travellers from the Middle East who were surveyed indicated that they would mostly travel for leisure, so providing spaces that are comfortable, relaxing and that accommodate different traveller needs ranging from solo to families with young children, is important for a positive airport experience.
Travellers indicated they are willing to pay for more premium services, especially those that provide conveniences and that are a refuge from the hustle and bustle of crowds. Knowing how to provide lounges and other products that serve these requirements will benefit not just companies like ours but provide new opportunities to increase non-aeronautical revenue for airports.
What do you see as potential risks the travel industry faces?
My career with PPG brought me through some of the most unexpected risks like the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a tough time to be in an industry like ours where business cannot be operated remotely. There was definitely no pivot to work from home for us!
We learned how to get through this huge global crisis and come back stronger. I think the travel industry had a big wakeup call and we learned about the need to think creatively and to turn the risk into an opportunity.
Another big pandemic is probably still a risk. For us, the increased level of hygiene that passengers demanded and that was recommended by health authorities made us rethink the delivery of our products and services: how to safely serve food and drink in our lounges and dining outlets as well as how we delivered other services that normally involved person-to-person contact.
Moving away from buffets to customized food orders done with a smartphone, and digitizing services such as airport concierge services by the Smart Traveller mobile platform helped customers feel more comfortable and in control of the environment and their level of exposure. But we know from the ASQ survey that customers still want to have human contact, so I think there’s a fine balance between digital and analogue.
These days, the risks around travel have switched to some concerns about geopolitical instability. I think that our industry can do a lot along with partners like airlines, travel portals and government bodies to ensure transparency on travel safety by providing updates quickly and clearly. With so much misinformation that is shared on social media, we all have a responsibility to give accurate, timely facts out there to our customers.
It’s of course impossible to forecast all of the risks that may emerge. But having seen our revenue crash by 90 percent during the pandemic to celebrating our 25th year in business just a few years later, I’m optimistic that being strategic, clear-minded and having the courage to transform will give us the foundation to continue to build and lead for the decades to come.
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