Everybody knows that, during peak season, seemingly any time apart from summer , finding a room is a nightmare in Dubai. With 10 million extra visitors a year expected by 2010, hotels feature heavily in Dubai´s expansion; it has successfully retained its strong position as a business and leisure tourism hub with its impressive portfolio of hotels posting all-time high record revenues of AED15.25 billion and a double-digit increase in rooms inventory in 2008, one of the most economically-challenging times for the global tourism industry.
Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said: “The results are highly encouraging and reflects the vibrancy and dynamism of the emirate’s expanding tourism industry. The performance reflects the efforts and ability of Dubai in confidently navigating through one of the most-difficult journeys that the global tourism industry is faced with” he said.
REVENUE REPORTSThe slight increase in guest numbers enabled Dubai hotels and hotel apartment posting AED15.25 billion in revenues, an impressive increase of 15 per cent over the previous year. In the year 2007, the revenues were to the tune of AED13.26 billion on the back of a 22.4 per cent growth. The Dubai Hotel and Hotel Apartment Performance Summary 2008 revealed 15.9 per cent increase in the number of hotel rooms and hotel apartments, which stood at 49,598. In 2007, the number of hotel rooms and hotel apartments were 42,807 after a 4.8 per cent growth over the previous year.
The government of Dubai is continuing its steps to manage this key economic domain in times of economic slowdown worldwide. The tourism and hotel sectors directly contribute 19 per cent to Dubai’s GDP, while their indirect contribution to GDP stands at 32 per cent in 2008. The initiatives launched by the DTCM have helped boost hotel occupancies since the start of 2009. For instance, the last week of February, the average occupancy of five-star beach hotels was 95 per cent with the average room rate for the five-star hotel being AED1239.
However, Hotels in Dubai had a drop in revenues for the first quarter of 2009 and are being hard hit by the worldwide economic crisis. The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) noted that the fall in revenue is the result of both falling demand and discounted rates, which are trying to make up for the demand drop.
A three-month familiarization programme targeting 2000 tour operators, MICE agents and Media representatives had been launched by DTCM in cooperation with Emirates Airlines and other key players of Dubai’s tourism industry to provide them a hands-on experience of Dubai and its vibrant tourism and business landscape. He said the excellent cooperation between the public and private sectors was a way forward to tourism industry growth in this volatile economic climate and Dubai remains an excellent inspirational role model for many destinations.
