Impressive Q1-3 for Dubai tourism

Dubai’s ever-expanding tourism industry seems to be shining with impressive performance.

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) have announced the emirate’s tourism industry’s first three quarters of 2011.

Mr. Khalid A Bin Sulayem, DTCM Director General, said, “The stellar performance of Dubai’s tourism industry is a testimony to the aggressive promotional and marketing drive that the department has been pursuing to enhance the number of tourists to the destination by tapping established and emerging markets across the world."

Dubai hotels played host 6.64 million guests in the first three quarters of 2011, up by 11% compared with the corresponding period last year. The guest nights rose by 26% to reach 23.68 million, while the average length of stay increased by 14% during the same period.

Revenues of hotels and hotel apartments increased by 19% to cross the AED10.96 billion, with the share the revenues of hotels increasing by 20% and that of hotel apartments by 13%.

The number of hotel establishments increased by one percent to 573 while the total hotel rooms and flats jumped up by seven percent to reach 73,522. The average occupancy levels of hotel room and flat increased by five and seven percent, respectively, and stood at 72% and 74%, respectively.

Dubai’s hotel establishments recorded 14% growth during the first quarter of 2011, reaching 2.38 million up from 2.09 million recorded in the first quarter of 2010. Of this, 1.84 million guests stayed in hotels and 533,190 people stayed in hotel apartments.

In the first half of 2011, Dubai hotel establishments showed a remarkable increase in the guest occupancy levels, guest nights and revenues, compared with corresponding period last year.

The number of guests in Dubai hotel establishments in the period from January to June this year was 4,585,019, an increase of 10% compared with the corresponding period last year. Hotels took 3,626,960 guests, an increase of 9% over last year’s figures, while 958,059 guests stayed with the hotel apartments, recording 11% increase over the last year period.

Similarly, the hotel apartments recorded the average flat occupancy level of 76% with a seven percent increase over the last year period.

The total revenues of hotels and hotel apartments during the first half of 2011 was over AED8.05 billion, an increase of 18% over the corresponding period last year. Of this, about AED7 billion came from the hotels and AED1.1 billion from the hotel apartments. The number of hotels and hotel apartments also recorded a modest increase of one per cent to reach the number of 573.