The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) expressed its strong appreciation at the emirate’s rapidly-expanding tourism industry maintaining outstanding growth by posting 49.4 per cent increase in hotel establishment revenues and 9.4 per cent increase in hotel guests in the first half of 2004 compared with the corresponding period last year. The total number of guest nights recorded an upsurge of 37.2 per cent during the same period and the total number of hotel beds occupied swelled by 30.6 per cent to reach 33,326.

The total number of guest nights during January-June was 7,662,308 as against 5,584,850 during the same period last year.

DTCM Director General Khalid A. bin Sulayem said that the impressive performance of Dubai’s hotel establishments strongly confirms that Dubai hospitality industry is delivering much beyond guests’ expectations.

“We are very pleased to see strong growth in hotel guests from all regions. Dubai has been posting strong year-on-year growth and the January-June performance by the booming hotel industry gives us the satisfaction that our efforts of promoting Dubai as a year-round business and leisure destination is paying off. The inspiring public-private sector partnership has helped make tourism as Dubai’s most buoyant economic sector,” he said.

Dubai’s 372 hotels and hotel apartments recorded revenues of Dh3.076 billion in the first half of 2004 as against Dh2.059 billion for the same period in 2003 - an impressive growth of 49.4 per cent.

The emirate’s rapidly-expanding portfolio of hotels played host to a total of 2.6 million guests between January and June this year while it was 2.4 million guests during the same period last year.

The hotel establishments’ room occupancy stood at 81.9 per cent as against 68.9 per cent in the first half of 2003. The hotel establishments’ bed occupancy, on the other hand, attained 78.7 per cent as compared to 62.8 per cent registered in the first half of 2003.

The DTCM reported a three per cent increase in hotel rooms available in the first half of 2004.

The total number of available hotel establishment rooms in the emirate is 26,012, while the total hotel establishment beds available stands at 42,351, an increase of 4.2 per cent over the previous period.

The total number of occupied hotel establishment rooms rose to 21,300, representing a 22.5 per cent hike over the previous period.

For the first six months of 2004, the total number of flats occupied stood at 5,336, a 2.4 per cent increase over the same period last year.

The flat occupancy was an exceptional 73.4 per cent, as against 67.4 per cent flat occupancy posted in the first six months of 2003.

By posting a modest five per cent increase in the number of guests, Dubai kept up its record impressive growth levels in 2003, the year which witnessed economically debilitating developments like Iraq war.

The hospitality industry played host to all-time record 4.9 million guests last year, up from 4.7 million in 2002.

In 2002, the World Tourism Organisation praised Dubai for posting a 31 per cent growth in tourist arrivals - the world’s highest for the year.
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