Image: Katara Hospitality chair HE Sheikh Nawaf

Qatar National Hotels Company (QNH) has announced its new corporate identity - Katara Hospitality - in order to drive forward the company's "ambitious" global expansion plans.

Katara Hospitality has been launched at Arabian Travel Market in the United Arab Emirates, and the name is designed to mark the start of a "new era" for the hospitality organisation.

The group said its corporate identity - derived from 'Catara', the ancient Greek word which referred to the Qatari peninsula - was more "relevant" to its international expansion aims.

Katara's portfolio comprises more than 4,000 bedrooms either open or under construction, with two Qatar projects and three European properties among its forthcoming openings.

The group's European openings include Switzerland's Royal Savoy Lausanne (2013), with a 1,500sq m (16,146sq ft) spa with eight treatment rooms among its facilities

Another planned Katara launch - due in 2014 - is the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, which will include the 10,000sq m (107,639sq ft) Alpine Spa with 15 treatment rooms and three private spa rooms.

Katara Hospitality chair HE Sheikh Nawaf bin Jassim bin Jabor Al-Thani said: "Our focus is on strategic investments and acquiring a collection of international properties that are true hospitality icons in the grandest sense."

Details: www.katarahospitality.com