Dubai’s booming hospitality industry showcased its vibrancy by posting over 42 per cent growth in revenues between January and September 2004 compared with the corresponding period last year.
Hotels and hotel apartments in the city played host to 4,099,772 guests. The volume of business done by the Dubai hotel industry in the first nine months of 2004 was Dh4.38 billion.
The fast-expanding industry remained upbeat with a spectacular 28.6 per cent increase in total guest nights, which stood at 11, 541, 417. There was a 27.8 per cent increase in revenues in the third quarter of 2004 compared with the corresponding period the previous year. The Q3 2004 revenues totalled Dh1.307 billion ($355 million) as against Dh1. 022 billion in the third quarter of 2003.
The number of guest nights in hotels and hotel apartments recorded a 14.5 per cent increase in the third quarter of 2004 compared with 3, 387, 866 guest nights generated during the same period in 2003.
Hotels and hotel apartments’ room inventory went up by two per cent to reach 26,206 against 25, 683 in the third quarter of 2003. Beach properties were way ahead of the city-centre hotels in terms of occupancy levels, with a rate of 90 per cent in August 2004 as against 84.2 per cent during the same month last year. This is followed by 87.1 per cent in September 2004 compared with 76.6 per cent the same period last year.
The director general of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Khalid A bin Sulayem, said: “The phenomenal growth of the emirate’s tourism industry in general and hospitality sector in particular proves Dubai’s popularity as an ideal year-round business and leisure destination.” He added: “This success demonstrates the inspiring public-private sector cooperation towards taking the growth levels to newer heights. Our aggressive promotional and marketing initiatives contributed enormously to achieve the growth objectives and in giving a boost to Dubai’s image in overseas markets.”