Hotels in UAE generated Dhs26b revenues in first seven month

In the first seven months of the year, hotel establishments in the UAE generated revenues of Dhs26 billion, witnessing a growth of up to 24 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year, revealed Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Head of the Emirates Tourism Council, during a meeting of the council.

Bin Touq said the hotel establishments in the country hosted 16 million guests in the period under review, with a growth of more than 15 per cent compared to the number of guests in the same period in 2022.

Some 56 million hotel nights have been booked while the hotel occupancy rate reached 75 per cent from January to July, up 5 per cent compared to the same period in 2022, he added.

He said the number of hotel establishments in the UAE reached 1224.

Bin Touq noted that these indexes contribute to increase the UAE’s competitiveness in the international tourism landscape and fulfil the national target of raising the contribution of the tourism sector in the GDP to Dhs 450 billion by the next decade under the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision.

The Council discussed an array of topics, including the latest developments in the implementation of the National Tourism Strategy 2031, and mechanisms for enhancing cooperation between the government and private sectors to achieve its goals, as well as following up on the results achieved by the ‘World’s Coolest Winter’, is the UAE’s first federal tourism campaign and one of the initiatives of UAE strategy for domestic tourism.

The campaign promoted tourism, natural sites and entertaining destinations and experiences across the UAE, achieving an increase in the domestic tourism.

The campaign raised the revenues of hotel establishments to Dhs1.8 billion, compared to Dhs1.5 billion in its second edition, marking an increase of 20 per cent.The current edition of the World’s Coolest Winter campaign, raised the number of domestic tourists to 1.4 million, an increase of 8 per cent over the previous edition.

He noted that the “World’s Coolest Winter” translates the objectives of the ‘’UAE Tourism Strategy 2031’’, which seeks to attract Dhs100 billion as additional investments for the tourism sector, and raise its contribution to the GDP to Dhs450 billion in 2031.

Bin Touq said the meeting saw the announcement of the formation of a hospitality advisory committee, which aims to stimulate the growth and increase competitiveness of this vital sector in the country and make it more diversified in line with international best practices. The committee also seeks to improve the country’s attractiveness for tourism investments, create tourism initiatives and programmes, and encourage continuous communication with private sector institutions and companies operating in the hospitality sector. The UAE dominated the global tourism landscape in the first half of 2023 and maintained its regional and international leadership as a preferred destination for travel, residency and business.

The country’s tourism sector performed exceptionally in the first six months of 2023, with record figures and results attesting to the success of the strategies and plans adopted by the UAE to develop this vital sector, as well as to achieve the objectives of the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, which include attracting tourism investments worth Dhs100 billion and hosting 40 million hotel guests.

In Abu Dhabi, data from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi revealed that the emirate’s hotels welcomed 2.4 million guests in the first half of 2023, a 34 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The emirate’s hotel establishments generated revenues exceeding Dhs3 billion during the same period, a 26 per cent growth compared to last year. They also recorded an average occupancy rate of 70 percent, with the average stay in the emirate’s hotels being 2.7 nights.

Abu Dhabi airports also reported a 67 percent rise in passenger traffic, with 10,258,653 passengers travelling through Abu Dhabi International Airport from 1st January to 30th June, 2023, compared to 6,158,376 during the same period last year.

Regarding flights, Abu Dhabi International Airport accommodated 67,835 flights, a 36 percent increase compared to 49,919 in the first half of 2022.

In August, the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT - Abu Dhabi) has reduced government fees applied to hotels in the emirate, supporting the continued growth of the hospitality and tourism sector, and enhancing Abu Dhabi as a leading global leisure and tourism destination.

The change is set to take effect from 1st September 2023 and follows directives from Abu Dhabi Executive Council to further encourage tourists as well as residents to enjoy hospitality offerings in the emirate. This revision of fees seeks to further grow the emirate as a tourism and cultural destination while bolstering support for its thriving hospitality sector.