Home
The Chairman's Message
The First Dubai International Film Festival
The Iraq Disaster
The Legacy Of Yasser Arafat
Dubai Shopping Festival
What Is Bush's Real Goal In Iraq
Destination Dubai
The Taming Of The River Nile
Al Zahrawi
Woman Of Distinction
Day Trips From Dubai To The Dessert
Dubai Traffic
Sports: The Dubai Rugby Sevens
Engineering
Habtoor News
About Us
Back Issues

Contact Us

 

 

 

By: Vessy Nick


  The skies seem brighter than ever for Dubai’s hospitality industry as yet another record-breaking year came to and end. Data from 2004 confirms the emirate’s status as a regional travel hub with an increase of 42 per cent in hotel establishment revenues generated in the first nine months of the year. The volume of business done by Dubai hotels in the three quarters of 2004 totalled Dhs.4.38 billion. In 2003, almost five million visitors come to the emirate, marking a five-per cent increase on 2002.

  While the number of visitors to the emirate has risen, so has the average hotel room rate with many five-star hotels slashing lower-paying guests segments such as cabin crew and going after higher-paying customers.

  Dubai is now firmly established on the global tourism map and is currently considered on par with popular destinations such as Turkey, Egypt and Singapore. With visitors from over 150 countries arriving in Dubai each year, it seems the demand is higher than supply when it comes to hotel accommodation. The city is appealing to a diverse set of audiences. With 458,451 visitors, the UK was Dubai’s top market last year, followed by Saudi Arabia, which generated 457,736 visitors, and Iran with 342,571 visitors. Other important markets are India, Russia, Oman, Pakistan, Kuwait, Germany, USA, Bahrain and Egypt. 

  While January and February are the busiest months for the tourism industry, with an average occupancy rate of 94 and 95 per cent respectively, there are indications that Dubai is now becoming an all-year-round destination. Occupancy levels have remained stable throughout the year with an average of 82.4 and 72.7 per cent in the months of June and July, which are usually the slowest in terms of tourist arrivals. In the third quarter of 2004, beach properties were way ahead of the city-centre hotels in terms of occupancy levels, with a rate of 90 % in August, against 84.2 % during the same month last year. This is followed by 87.1 % in September 2004 compared with 76.6 % the same period last year.

  While Dubai is primarily a leisure destination with 70 per cent of all 2004 visitors being leisure travellers, the emirate is quickly becoming a popular meetings & incentives destination. After the IMF and World Bank meetings in 2003, Dubai is ready to take on any MICE event of any size.

  Further, Dubai Convention Bureau has been created in 2001 specifically with the task of promoting Dubai as a business tourism destination. The Bureau has set a target of attracting an additional 600,000 guest nights from the international rotating meeting market by 2008, generating cumulative revenues for Dubai’s hotels in excess of US$ 200 million.

  Some of the big international events to be hosted in Dubai soon include the 40th World Congress of the International Advertising Association in March 2006. The city has been chosen unanimously over competitors such as Miami and Sydney. Another big event is coming up in 2008 when Dubai will host the World Association of Cooks Societies World Congress which will gather under one roof over 2,500 chefs, hoteliers and restaurateurs.

  With so many opportunities opening up, it is little wonder that tourism has become a major earner for Dubai. Dubai posted the world’s highest growth of 31 per cent in international tourism arrivals in 2002 and this meant hotel establishments generated a total of Dhs.3.8 billion as revenue. Tourism’s direct contribution to the economy stood at 17.2 per cent of GDP, while indirectly it contributed 28.9 per cent. It has been estimated that by 2010 tourism will be directly responsible for 21 per cent of GDP. Impressive as these figures are, they become even more so when the fact that Dubai’s tourism industry is only about 20 years old is taken into consideration. The emirate’s tourism success story has even been features in a textbook published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge and forms part of the Cambridge International Examination syllabus.

  Its pristine beaches and the year-round sunshine are Dubai’s major selling points. Dubai is also famed as a shoppers’ paradise with a variety of options to satisfy different tastes and budgets – from lively souks where bargains are the order of the day to stylish luxury goods boutiques.

  A truly cosmopolitan city, Dubai has still remained faithful to the spirit of Arabia and it is this peaceful coexistence of old and new that is a massive crowd-puller. Whether it is relaxation or fun that visitors are looking for, the city offers a safe atmosphere. In fact, for the second year in a row, the city has been voted as the safest destination in the world by the influential Conde Nast Traveller magazine.

  However, there are many cities in the world offering pretty views, sunshine ad great shopping and yet, they have not managed to attract the large number of visitors Dubai has. According to Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, Media Relations Manager at the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Dubai’s astounding success is the result of several factors, including its strategic geographical location, on the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, its excellent infrastructure and proactive economic policies.

  When it comes to hotel infrastructure, visitors are spoiled for choice in Dubai. All major global hotel chains own or operate properties in the city. With some 372 hotels and hotel apartments with an inventory of 25,000 rooms, Dubai enjoys the highest concentration of hotels compared with its population. It is not merely the large number of hotels, but rather the high-quality service and standards they provide that is responsible for the tourism boom.

  Dubai is home to some of the world’s most exciting hotels such as the Burj Al Arab, which has attracted an enormous amount of international media attention an currently enjoys an iconic status. And the list does not end here. Coming up in 2006 is the world’s first underwater hotel, worth US$500 million. Situated off the Jumeirah coast, Hydropolis will have 220 rooms and will boast unparallel underwater views. Another exciting project is Dubailand, a Dhs.18 billion theme park, which is said to become the Middle East’s answer to Disneyland in Florida. The park will include an artificial rain forest under an enormous glass dome and a ski slope with artificial snow.

  Dubai is also home to the exciting Palm Island and World projects, which have attracted a great degree of interest from international investors and hotel developers, while also substantially increasing the emirate’s coastline. Other projects which will boost the city’s tourist appeal include the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest tower and the Dhs.1.8 billion Dubai Healthcare City which will help turn Dubai into a regional medical hub.

  The success of Emirates Airline, which is one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world, as well as Dubai International Airport’s emergence as a key aviation hub are two factors that also augur well for the emirate’s hospitality industry. Over 18 million passengers passed through Dubai International Airport in 2003, an increase of 13 per cent on 20002. As may as 105 airlines serving 145 destinations currently fly out of Dubai International Airport, which is currently undergoing reconstruction and enlargement works worth Dhs.4.1 billion.

  Apart from world-class infrastructure, Dubai’s success as a tourism destination is due to the collaboration between the private sector and the government, which was the architect of the current tourism boom. Dubai’s government first identified tourism as a potential money earner in the late 1980s. A dedicated tourism and promotion board was set up in 1993. In 1997, the DTCM took over and has since been responsible for the licensing of hotels, hotel apartments, tour operators and tour guides in the emirate and managing key heritage sites as well as for supporting all tourism players in the market and promoting Dubai overseas.

  Some 350 people work for the DTCM in Dubai. The department holds regular meetings with various hotel industry players and ensures issues faced by individual hotels or by the industry as a whole are put forward to the relevant government departments and dealt with quickly. The cooperation between the public and the private sectors has a lot to do with the outstanding success of Dubai as a destination.

  The DTCM is also responsible for making sure all hotels maintain high standards that will make coming to Dubai a pleasurable experience for tourists. In 2001, the Department also developed an online system for complaints and, two years later, started providing a round-the-clock complaint service through its visitors’ information bureau at the Dubai International Airport.  

  Promoting Dubai around the world is just as important to the emirate’s tourism success. The DTCM has 14 overseas offices, covering key markets such as the US, the UK, France, Germany, the Nordic countries, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the Russian Federation, CIS and Baltic states, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, India, the Far East, Japan and Australia and New Zealand. Overseas departments are responsible for advertising, media campaigns and other public relations initiatives. A total of 181 journalists from all over the world visited the UAE from January until 22 October this year, while Dubai is being promoted at more than 30 major international travel trade events. The DTCM’s plans are equally ambitious for 2005, when Dubai will be looking to break yet another tourism industry record.

   

| Top | Home | Al Habtoor Group | Metropolitan Hotels | Al Habtoor Automobiles |
|
Diamond Leasing | Emirates International School |