Welcoming The World

In An Exclusive Interview, Jumeirah Group Ceo José Silva Reveals The Dubai Brand’s Bold New Strategy To Compete Locally And Abroad

- Aarti Nagraj

The iconic sail-shaped “seven-star” hotel Burj Al Arab – built 20 years ago – continues to proudly stand as one of the most popular symbols of Dubai.

The luxurious hotel, which has recently seen several refurbishments, also claims to have another feather in its cap – of being the most followed hotel on Instagram with over 875,000 followers (at the time of going to press).

For the hotel’s developer, Dubai’s homegrown brand Jumeirah Group, taking bold and “audacious” steps has been part of its DNA, claims CEO José Silva, who took over the role just over a year ago, in March 2018.

“The brand was always very ambitious, very audacious. Building Burj Al Arab was visionary, bold and unique,” he says.

“But beyond that, they built Al Qasr, which I think in a very different way is just as bold as Burj Al Arab. For me, it says 'I’m in Dubai, I’m in the Middle East'.”

His task now is to take the brand “into the future”, he states.

“I’m not trying to reinvent the brand. I’m just trying to expand it into its future. The reality is that the market has evolved a lot. The Dubai market is now mature and in the luxury space, every luxury brand on the planet is coming to Dubai. So that says a lot. It says that the market has demand from every region in the world, and that the market can support luxury.”

With the influx of several new operators, Jumeirah – which manages a portfolio of 10 hotels and residences in Dubai – now faces increased competition on its home turf.

“You’re strong at home, but now, you need to face the luxury brands from across the planet. So it’s a true test for the brand. We need to be a global player with global expertise although we’re homegrown. We need to compete in the global Olympics of hotel luxury,” he adds with a laugh.