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29 March 2024

Dubai to have half of 28,000 UAE rooms supply by 2016: JLL

Published
By Waheed Abbas

More than 28,000 hotels rooms will come online by 2016 in the UAE with half of them to be built in Dubai – thanks to the Expo 2020, according to the latest figures released today.

“With Dubai winning its bid to host the Expo 2020 event, the hospitality sector should be a major beneficiary, with up to 25 million visitors expected during the 6-month period. The event will benefit not just Dubai but also Abu Dhabi (and other emirates) with many guests choosing to visit multiple destinations within the UAE,” JLL analysts said in the report.

According to it, around 31 per cent, or 8,700 rooms, of the new hotel room supply will come online in Abu Dhabi.

Research firm Business Monitor International said last month that the UAE will add 120 hotels and nearly 32,000 rooms by 2018 to cater to the growing number of guests.

JLL forecast that Dubai is expected to maintain sustainable growth with a balance demand and supply in the short to medium term while Abu Dhabi witnesses selective recovery in hotel performance across the city.

Helped by UAE airlines, the UAE tourism and hospitality market is expected to witness positive and stable growth over the next three to five years, JLL said, adding that though local companies and high net worth individuals make up a big portion of investors in the UAE’s hospitality sector, increased appetite by global institutions and firms is now being witnessed on key assets and developments.

With the completion of several key tourism projects including leisure and entertainment components, Abu Dhabi is expected to grow its leisure demand segment. Despite supply in the emirate growing faster than demand in the past, Abu Dhabi is currently in the id of a ‘ramp-up’ phase towards a near stabilisation period.

The growth in the Northern Emirates and most notably Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah have increased their shares of guest arrivals from 18 per cent in 2006 to 26 per cent in 2013.

According to World Travel and Tourism Council figures, the travel and tourism industry contribution in 2013 grew to Dh199.8bn compared to Dh193.6bn in the previous year. It projects 5 per cent annual growth, leading to contribution of Dh325.4bn by 2023, making up 16.4 per cent of the GDP.

 Operators’ share

Currently, Abu Dhabi-based Rotana Hotels leads the UAE market with 32 properties and 8,131 keys, followed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts with 22 properties and 6,470 keys.

For the upcoming projects, Starwood dominates the list with 10 hotels in the pipeline, adding 3,800 keys to the UAE’s hotel room supply. It’s is followed by Rotana group (3,000 rooms), Accor SA (2,600 rooms), Intercontinental and Hilton (1,800 each), Millennium & Copthorne (1,700), Fairmont Raffles and Wyndham Hotel Group (1,500 each), Movenpick Hotels (1,100) and Marriott International (800).

The UAE houses 590 hotels totalling more than 93,000 rooms at the end of 2013. International operators hold about 68 per cent of the total hotel room inventory and the majority of the supply is concentrated in the upscale 4- and 5-star segment. Dubai and Abu Dhabi account for 68 per cent of the hotel supply in the UAE.