TIME Hotels Management (TIME), the new Dubai-based hospitality company, has announced that it will participate for the first time in Arabian Travel Market (ATM) this year, which runs from April 30 - 3 May at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Having recently entered the Middle East hospitality sector by securing the management contracts for six properties in the UAE - including two hotels and four hotel apartments - Mohamed Awadalla, Area Vice President, TIME, sees the company’s ATM debut as an opportunity to leverage its new brand in the region’s hospitality and travel and trade sectors.

“TIME is a young, ambitious hospitality company with plans to expand our portfolio of hotels and strengthen our brand identity in the Middle East,” Awadalla said.

“ATM provides us with a perfect opportunity to do exactly that. With the region’s leading hoteliers, tour operators, travel agents and hospitality executives all assembled under one roof we will look to consolidate our portfolio of existing partners while also seeking new trade partnerships to better align us with our target markets such as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) families and frequent independent travellers (FITs).
And the fact that ATM is being held in Dubai provides another opportunity for TIME, Awadalla says: “Five of our six properties are situated in the emirate. And considering business travellers from neighbouring GCC States are one of our target guest profiles, TIME offers the requisite accommodation for all attending this year’s event.”

TIME’s recent arrival into the hospitality industry comes when the UAE’s travel and tourism trade is booming once again.
Dubai topped the world in hotel occupancy rates with 86.2 per cent. The emirate ranked above Sydney, London, Paris, Hong Kong and New York to name a few, a recent report from STR Global stated.

Furthermore, the Dubai Department for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) released statistics that showed Dubai alone welcomed approximately 9.3 million hotel guests in 2011 - an increase of 10 per cent from last year.

The DTCM numbers showed that tourists stayed longer and spent more, generating some AED16 billion in revenues - an increase of 20 per cent.

Moreover, the Dubai government has pledged its unwavering commitment to the development of the tourism industry, with Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of the Dubai Economic Sector Committee, identifying travel and tourism as an integral element to the future prosperity of the region, he said in a speech at the Economic Outlook 2012.

“As well as the wealth of promising figures that surround the region’s tourism industry currently, the UAE, particularly Dubai, has been considered a safe haven for both regional and international travellers seeking an alternative destination as trouble persists in some parts of the Arab world,” added Awadalla.

The latest industry projections from leading international consultancy - TRI Hospitality Consulting - show that the current financial year is showing promising signs for Dubai. Room rates and occupancy levels at hotels throughout the emirate are registering statistics comparable to the pre-recession figures of 2008, with a 5-10% boom in average daily rates (ADR) expected due to sustained high-levels of hotel occupancy.