A leading Dubai hotelier sees a very promising fut-ure for tourism in the region with huge investments in the sector as well as many new hotels and resorts coming up across the Middle East.
The region is becoming both a business and leisure hub, says Moussa El Hayek, general manager of Al Bustan Centre and Residence in Dubai. "We expect more new hotels to open very soon, perhaps early or middle of next year and the conference market also continues to grow," said El Hayek. "Dubai already hosts more than 60 major exhibitions as well as numerous major conferences each year. "It is successfully promoted as a new incentive destination and the noticeable growth in Dubai's leisure sector is being accompanied by development of its service and tourist sectors." He praised the Dubai government for its pro-active role in promoting the emirate as a safe and attractive destination. He said projects like Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises which ended last month, have become major seasons for Dubai, contributing to its success as a destination. "The emergence of new shopping malls also proves that the country is still developing rapidly and although the competition is quite stiff nowadays, the response from the public is very positive, a sign that everything is getting back to normal and good cycle of business is still expected in the future". A family destination in Dubai, Al Bustan Residence Hotel Apartments is just five minutes away from the airport and seven minutes from downtown. It offers 640 luxury suites and guests have access to two tennis courts, a swimming pool and a health club with separate facilities for men and women. Al Bustan Centre, the in-house shopping mall, offers a wide choice in retail outlets, multi cuisine restaurants and fast food outlets, an Internet café and Fantasy Kingdom, one of the largest indoor amusement arcades in the UAE. El Hayek said Al Bustan had lined up a series of attractive deals and promotions during DSS with added values and benefits for long and short term stays. "Al Bustan Residence occupancy varies throughout the year. During certain seasons we achieve 85 per cent, at times 100 per cent but as an average we could say 60 per cent from a blend of markets, GCC, CIS, European and the UAE market," said El Hayek.