Dubai hotels recorded revD enue worth Dh7.9 billion in 2005, against Dh5.5bn the previous year, according to the latest statistics compiled by Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
Last year, the emirate played host to more than six million hotel and hotel apartment guests, for the first time in its history, according to DTCM.This is not a small achievement for a destination that only emerged as a "tourist" destination on the world map in 1997.
The report did not cover tourists who stayed with friends and acquaintances during their stay in Dubai, or those who stayed in hotels in other emirates.
Europe as a region accounted for 1,940,255 guests, with the British brigade the major nationality to be found staying at Dubai hotels last year.
Saudis were also eager visitors to Dubai, accounting for more than 10 per cent of tourists. As many as 647,984 Saudi guests stayed at Dubai hotels last year, 33 per cent higher than in 2004.
Among other major nationalities, 67 per cent more Americans visited Dubai last year, 47 per cent more Chinese and 31 per cent more Qataris stayed in Dubai hotels. UAE NATIONAL GUESTS Another interesting aspect that the DTCM study revealed was that many UAE nationals still figure in the Dubai hotels guest list as they did in 2004.
While 327,035 UAE nationals accounted for the total number of Dubai guests in 2004, the number last year was a marginal high, at 327,131 guests.
In fact, the number declined by 17 per cent in 2004 when compared to 2003.
Meanwhile, the number of available rooms in Dubai hotels last year went up to 28,610 rooms compared to 26,155 rooms in 2004. UK-based research house HVS International expects between 18,000 and 20,000 hotel rooms to enter the Dubai market by 2010, an increase of almost 70 per cent on the current room supply.
The number of operating hotels, however, stands at 290 in 2005 compared to 276 in 2004. TOP OF THE WORLD From about 290 hotels and 28,610 rooms in Dubai alone at the moment, the emirate is expected to have about 50,000 rooms by 2010, with a goal to attract 15 million visitors during that period.
The room occupancy rates touched an average of 84.57 per cent in 2005 as compared to 81.01 per cent the previous year and 72.36 per cent in 2003.
The DTCM data further reveals that during the last three quarters of 2005, Dubai hotels recorded an occupancy rate of 86 per cent, which puts Dubai at the top of the world league for hotel occupancy, followed by New York with 83 per cent and Singapore at 80 per cent.
"Tourism has been shaping Dubai's economy quite well and continues to contribute enormously in giving new growth directions.The emirate is working towards matching the expectations of the world.
"We are moving ahead with confidence and the world keeps looking at us with admiration and amazement.
Dubai's success is both inspiring and promising. As far as we can see, the future appears bright," said Khalid A bin Sulayem, the director-general of DTCM.
Moreover, HVS International's recent report illustrates that the total number of room nights in Dubai is correlated to the public capital investment.
Meanwhile, travel and tourism is expected to contribute approximately 10.5 per cent of Dubai's economic wealth in 2005 compared with 10 per cent in 2004.
Also, Global Lodging Review, a publication of Deloitte and Smith Travel Research, has ranked Dubai hotels and hotel apartments first in the world in terms of generating the highest revenue per available room (RevPar) between January and September 2005.
In addition, Dubai's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) posted 16.7 per cent growth touching Dh100bn in 2004.
According to the Department of Economic Development (DED) the emirate's GDP touched Dh110bn in 2005.
GROWTH DYNAMICS The DTCM attributes the successful growth also to other aspects in 2005, such as the emirate offering winter experiences with the opening of SkiDubai and the emirate generating tremendous amount of interest from the British and German travel industries, both of which figure in the top 10 source markets for Dubai's tourism industry, according to the DTCM.
For instance, in the first half of 2005, Dubai recorded a 24 per cent growth in hotel guests from Germany, according to DTCM, compared with the corresponding period last year.
According to the latest report on the luxury long-haul travel market, Kuoni Travels revealed that in the 12 months to the end of June 2005, Dubai became the number-one luxury long-haul destination in the world.
Dubai hotels also received 681,469 guests from the United Kingdom in 2005, a 13 per cent increase from the previous year.
Also, a record 115 direct flights between the United King dom and Dubai are adding impetus to the growth, according to the DTCM.
"The UK's second largest long-haul airline,Virgin Atlantic, has now also started direct flights to the UK from Dubai.
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