6.44 PM Thursday, 28 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:57 06:11 12:27 15:53 18:37 19:51
28 March 2024

Dubai’s landmarks prove major tourist attractions

Published
By Parag Deulgaonkar

Which are the principal tourist attractions in Dubai?

Burj Khalifa (the world's tallest building), Burj Al Arab (one of the world's most luxurious hotels), Ski Dubai (an indoor ski slope), the Palm Islands (one of the world's largest man-made islands), the Dubai Mall (one of the world's largest shopping malls) and the Atlantis Hotel top the list of tourist attractions, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has said in the planned government bond prospectus.

The government estimates that restaurants and hotels contributed approximately 3.7 per cent to Dubai's GDP in 2010, the prospectus revealed.

BY end of 2011, there were 575 hotels, guest houses and hotel apartments in Dubai with an occupancy rate of 74 per cent last year. Hotels, guest houses and hotel apartments accommodated 9.09 million guests in 2011, an increase of 9.7 per cent from 8.29 million visitors in 2010, while hotel occupancy increased from 70 per cent in 2010 to 74 per cent in 2011, along with a 5.5 per cent increase in the number of hotel rooms in 2011, from 70,955 to 74,843.

The department reported a 20 per cent increase in annual revenues for Dubai's hotels and hotel apartments in 2011, from Dh13.3 billion in 2010 to Dh16 billion in 2011.

STR Global's data for Q1 2012 revealed occupancy in Dubai hotels rose 8.2 per cent in three months to reach 86.6 per cent while the average daily rate (ADR) increased 8.7 per cent to Dh964.86 for the quarter, compared with the same period last year.

This, the global hotels research agency said, boosted revenue per available room for Dubai hotels by 17.6 per cent year-on-year.

Although STR Global says that Dubai and Abu Dhabi were both experiencing growth, the two UAE markets are at different growth cycles.

"In Q1 2012, both cities benefited from a fairly similar demand growth, with Dubai growing by 11 per cent and Abu Dhabi by 9.7 per cent," it said.

DTCM operates a network of 18 overseas representative offices, including three, which were opened in China in 2008 with the aim of tapping the strong tourism growth potential in that country.

Dubai is also considered an important location for hosting international conferences, exhibitions and large cultural events such as the Dubai International Film Festival and Art Dubai.

Reports by the Dubai World Trade Center show that 75 exhibitions were held in 2011 with 31,556 companies participating, a 9.2 per cent increase from 2010, and visitors reaching 1,217,169, a 21.9 per cent increase from 2010.

In addition, 2011 saw 151 meetings and conferences held with 83,191 delegates attending, further helping the tourism sector of Dubai's economy.

Dubai has sought to position itself as an important business and leisure tourism hub within the Middle East region and has developed a significant tourism infrastructure to facilitate this strategy.