Fujairah to add 2,000 hotel rooms: Tourism chief

Fujairah is expected to add approximately 2,000 new hotel rooms in the next five years to accommodate growing number of tourists in the emirate, said a senior government official.

Dr Ahmed Khalifa Al Shamsi, Chairman of Fujairah Tourism and Antiquities Authority, said the emirate currently houses 4,000 hotel rooms following the opening of two new properties in the first quarter of this year. With tourist number growing year-on-year, the Al Shamsi forecasts that the number of hotel rooms will reach 6,000 over the next five years.

“New hotels are coming up in Fujairah. Two new hotels opened in the last two to three months; another should open later this year. There are 4,000 total hotel rooms in the emirate and we hope to have another 2,000 rooms in the next 5 years,” he added.

Al Shamsi told Emirates 24|7 that the number of tourists is growing and hotel stays are enjoying a healthy occupancy rate in the emirate. He said the number of tourists have nearly doubled over the last three years.

Patrick Antaki, General Manager of Fujairah’s Le Meridien Al Aqab Beach Resort, said the occupancy rate is very healthy at over 80 per cent and the hotel has embarked on Dh60 million refurbishment plan for this year.

“This summer 100 rooms of the resort will be totally refurbished with the latest technology. This year alone we are spending about Dh60 million in refurbishments. If we develop this further, then more tourists will come to this area and there will be more wealth and jobs,” Antaki added.

Fujairah Tourism Chairman Al Shamsi said: “In 2010, about 750,000 people stayed in Fujairah hotels, which rose to one million in 2011, 1.3 million in 2012 and 1.5 million in 2013 – doubling in just three years. We expect this upward trend graph to continue this year and the hotel stays likely to reach 1.7 million in 2014.”

The major tourist attractions in the emirate are the UAE’s oldest mosque Al Bidyah, the forts, Wadi Al Wurayah and sea diving for coral reefs.

 

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