Sharjah hotel occupancy up 83%
During this period, the tourism sector continued the substantial growth that it saw last year, with the number of guests climbing from the 673,218 guests in the first half of 2007, to 761,495 guests for the first half of 2008. The numbers were split between hotels, which accommodated 412,927 guests in the first half of the year, and hotel apartments, which accommodated 348,568 guests, against 347,379 and 325,839 guests, respectively, in the first six months of the previous year.
Furthermore, the total number of hotels and hotel apartments in Sharjah increased to 102 (37 hotels and 65 hotel apartments), compared to the figure of 74 (24 hotels and 50 hotel apartments) during the same period in 2007. The increase in the number of hotels and hotel apartments raised the number of available rooms from 6,080 in the first half of 2007 to 7486 in the first half of 2008, with hotel rooms increasing from 3,237 to 3913 and hotel apartment rooms increasing from 2,843 to 3573. European tourists accounted for 38 per cent of the total tourist influx into the emirate in the first half of 2008, while GCC tourists accounted for 23 per cent, and 13 per cent came from other Arab countries.
Asian tourists made up 21 per cent of the total, while American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, African and Pacific tourists made up the remaining five per cent.
Mohamed Ali Al Noman, the Director General of SCTDA, said: “This increase in the number of hotel premises in the emirate and the rise in their occupancy rate clearly indicates that 2008 has so far been a year of excellent tourist performance. This excellence is also apparent in the increased number of tourists that visited the emirate during the first half of this year.”
Meanwhile, Sharjah hoteliers told Emirates Business that occupancy ranged from 60 to 90 per cent during the summer. Hotel Holiday International general manager Moustafa Nassef says his hotel’s occupancy rates of 60 per cent to 65 per cent are close to last year’s.
The rate was expected to go up this summer, but large numbers of tourists from Gulf Cooperation Council member-states are heading for Lebanon and Egypt’s Red Sea beaches, he added.
Nassef said the hotel sees an occupancy rate ranging from 80 per cent to 85 per cent in winter months.
Radisson SAS Resort General Manager Guy Chidiac said that since the beginning of the year his hotel has witnessed a considerable increase in the number of customers. The rate of occupancy in the first quarter of 2008 was between 80 per cent and 90 per cent, he said.
He said his hotel offers discounts in excess of 30 per cent in summer, expecting the occupancy rate to top 60 per cent to 70 per cent.
Chidiac said Radisson SAS average occupancy rate at in the first half of the year ranged between 80 per cent and 90 per cent. He expected the rate to maintain a good level during the summer season and to reach 70 per cent, a good rate for summer.
Lou’lou’a Beach Resort and Premiere Hotel & Resort general manager Yasser Alawi said the occupancy rate in both hotels rose in the first half of this year and ranged between 80 per cent and 90 per cent, and sometimes it was 100 per cent.