Dundee City Council is urging hotel and restaurant operators to consider opening in Dundee at the city’s new waterfront regeneration which is set to attract an extra 300,000 visitors every year once completed.
Stretching 8km along the north bank of the River Tay, the redevelopment’s flagship project will be a £45m V&A Museum which is opening in 2015 and will attract an additional 3m visitors and £1bn in tourism over a 10 year period. 9000 new jobs will be created in the V&A alone.
Other attractions along the waterfront include a Maritime Wat tour and a marina for commercial and leisure needs, a residential development, a £32m Olympia swimming pool and a new £18m Dundee railway station.
Despite still in need of more, a number of big retail brands have already taken sites at the waterfront including Nando's and regional bar operator FullerThompson, who already operate three other venues in Dundee.
Boutique hotel group Malmasion will open with 91 bedrooms and the five star Custom House Hotel, which is Dundee’s first five-star property, will open in 2015 with 38 bedrooms.
The City Council’s director of development Mike Galloway says hospitality businesses now have a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ to capitalise on the rapid growth of Scotland’s fourth largest city.
“The dramatic growth in visitor numbers over the next decade will create significant demand for much-needed new accommodation, restaurants, bars, retail and allied businesses,” said Galloway. “We already estimate the city will need five hotels offering 100 beds each and are urging hotel operators to consider opening new ventures.”