REVENUES of Dubai hotels increased by 22.78 per cent in 2006 amid high occupancy rates and record average earnings per room to reach Dh10.83 billion ($2.94 billion), the tourism department said.
Lodging and non-lodging revenues of hotels and hotel apartments stood at Dh10.83 billion last year compared to Dh8.82 billion in 2005, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said.
The emirate saw an increase of about 6.5 per cent in the number of tourists staying at city hotels. Dubai hotels attracted 6.5 million guests in 2006 against 6.1 million in 2005.
“The excellent performance by the hospitality industry in the emirate during 2006 is a reflection of our marketing and promotional initiatives, especially in overseas markets,” Khalid Bin Sulayem, DTCM director-general, said in a statement.
The department aims to bring in 6.8 million tourists to the city this year – numbers that do not include visiting friends and family that do not stay in hotels.
Dubai had a total of 414 hotels last year, offering 40,862 rooms, an increase of 6.9 per cent. Guest nights rose by 7.9 per cent to reach 17.59 million in 2006 against 16.3 million in 2005. Average room tariff last year reached a record Dh633.
This year the emirate expects to have 11,000 new rooms, most of them in the high-end category. Long-haul tourists are driving up demand for luxury hotels.
Last year about 40 per cent of hotel capacity in Dubai was rated five-star. With new luxury properties being built, rooms in the high-end category could reach about 70 per cent.
DTCM said Dubai hotels achieved a record 85 per cent room occupancy this January, higher than that of Hong Kong, Sydney, Tokyo and London.