Guests at Dubai hotels increase by 9% this year
There has been a significant growth in the number of people staying in Dubai hotels during the first half of 2010, according to official data published this week.
As reported by The Khaleej Times, the number of guests at Dubai hotels increased by 9% to 4.2 million people. In fact, the emirate saw more tourists from Asia and the Gulf Arab region which led to hotels boasting occupancy rates above 70%.
In fact, there was a 20% boost in the number of people visiting Dubai from Gulf Arab states, and 17% more from Asia. There was also a 3% increase in the number of tourists coming from Europe, which totalled 1.3 million in the first half of the year.
« Despite the challenging conditions faced by the global tourism industry last year, Dubai was still able to achieve impressive results in terms of tourist arrivals, hotel revenues and tourism related events, » said Khalid Ahmen bin Sulayem, the director-general of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
An statement published on AMEinfo.com quoted Bin Sulayem crediting the private sector for the boost in visitors. He said: « This would not have been possible without their sincere efforts and cooperation, especially given the challenges faced by the global tourism industry in general. »
