Wednesday, Mar 07, 2012

Saudi Arabia emerged as top source market followed by India

Sluggish growth in US and Europe and volatile oil prices pose challenges

Dubai Dubais tourism industry achieved a 20 per cent jump in revenues to Dh16 billion last year due to a number of factors, including Arab Spring and the addition of new properties.

The emirates 575 hotels and serviced apartments catered to 9.30 million tourists last year, a growth of 10 per cent over the 8.49 million in 2010.

Of these, 7.26 million guests stayed in hotels, up from 6.56 million in 2010.

This reflects an increase in room rates as hotel occupancy stabilised at 74 per cent, said a latest report by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), the tourism regulatory body.

Dubais tourism infrastructure coupled with the Arab Spring helped divert tourists traffic to Dubai.

We have seen a 30 per cent increase in hotel rates in recent months, Muin Serhan, general manager of the Millennium Plaza Hotel, told Gulf News.

Of course, the Arab Spring has helped tourists to come to Dubai, and its world-class infrastructure has also helped attract visitors from the region.

Guest nights rose 23 per cent to 32.84 million in 2011. Hotels contributed 23.26 million guest nights.

Hotel apartments experienced an increase of over two million guests, with these properties contributing 9.5 million guest nights last year against 7.5 million in 2010.

Similarly, the average length of stay stood at 3.6 days, up by 12 per cent over the previous year.

Gassan Aridi, chief executive of Alpha Tours, said, in addition to the Arab Spring, the long-term reputation of Dubai helped.

There is a combination of factors for this growth. Dubai has a strong reputation as a leading tourism destination that helped along with the Arab Spring, he said.

Besides, new tourism products and hotels have helped attract visitors, such as the Burj Khalifa and hotels in that neighbourhood.

He said room rates will stabilise. There are a number of new hotels coming on line this year which will increase supplies.

One of the key reasons for growth is the expansion of Emirates airline, which is the biggest supplier of hotel guests.

Emirates carries more than 34 million passengers a year, a significant number of whom stay in the hotels.

Initiatives

However, DTCM Director General Khalid Al Bin Sulayem said: We have been successful in boosting the number of tourists to Dubai due to our initiatives to enhance our position in established markets and tap new and emerging tourism source markets.

The substantial gains by hotels and hotel apartments reflect, once again, the vibrancy and dynamism of the tourism industry in the emirate.

In 2011, Saudi Arabia emerged as the top source market for Dubais tourism industry with 873,152 guests, followed by India with 702,142, and British tourists with 643,196.

The number of tourists from Iran reached 476,708 and the US rose to 462,653.

By Saifur Rahman, Business Editor

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