Hotels in Dubai are full to bursting for the Eid Al Adha holidays and managers say they are set to remain busy for weeks to come.
The combined effect of Eid and Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) means travellers will struggle to find a room in the city.
Managers say the extended opening of DSF's Global Village this year means hotels will enjoy bumper business until the end of March.
Thousands of people, many of them from elsewhere in the UAE as well as other GCC countries, have flooded into Dubai to take advantage of the holidays.
"We are so busy at the moment. I think the majority of the five star hotels in Dubai are fully booked because of the shopping festival and Eid," said Ameenah Mounib, spokeswoman for the Renaissance Dubai Hotel, which has 281 rooms.
It is a similar story at the Coral International in Deira, where occupancy is at 100 per cent.
"The average occupancy rate during DSF has been between 96 per cent and 98 per cent, but during the Eid holidays we are fully booked," Hina Bakht, a spokeswoman for the five star venue, told Gulf News.
The coming days were set to be among the busiest of the year for the hotel, which is in Al Muraqqabat Street, close to many of DSF's street activities, she said. "This is a boom time for the city's hotels," Bakht said.
Dubai's six hotels in the Rotana Group are likely to remain close to full until the end of March, said Al Bustan Rotana Hotel general manager Imad Elias.
This is largely because the Global Village, with its dozens of national pavilions, will be open for business for 79 days until March 31.
"We've been running at 100 per cent occupancy since the New Year. It has been very, very busy and it's continuing until the end of March," Elias said.
A packed calendar of conferences and exhibitions, as well as the upcoming Dubai Tennis Championship, would add to the effect of DSF in keeping the hotel busy, he said.
Most of those staying in the hotel over Eid were from elsewhere in the UAE, rather than from other GCC countries or further afield, Elias said.
Hotel apartments are also busy, with Cora Dinio of the Royal Plaza saying January and February were both close to being fully booked.
"It's the busiest time of the year. Most of the hotel apartments here are running full. We are fully booked," she said.
Gulf News
