Dubai is one of the top 10 destinations in the world in terms of travel and tourism for those coming for leisure, business or shopping purposes. With its pristine beaches, ultimate luxury, modern marvels, variety of malls and a host of events, Dubai has been the unrivalled tourism hub of the Middle East, and has fast become one of the world’s most loved tourism destination with millions of visitors coming from all over the globe, said Genesis Consulting ME – an integrated business planning and marketing services provider in the Middle East.
It pointed out the success of the travel, tourism and hospitality sector for Dubai in 2012 and the upcoming years.
Dubai is attracting demand from a wide range of segments, including leisure, corporate and MICE travelers. The leisure market remains the leading sector, contributing over 40 percent of occupancy of the total room nights in hotels. However, business demand is increasing due to the improvement in business sentiment across the region. Dubai has also become the preferred MICE destination in the region, hosting large international and regional events, including Arab Health, World Economic Forum and the Dubai Airshow.
Based on the vision and initiatives Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and the Prime Minister of UAE, Dubai has risen consistently on the list of top tourist destinations in the world. Dubai is expected to attract more than 15 million tourists from all around the globe by 2015. This reflects positively to the growth of the hotel industry, which recorded an occupancy rate of 80 percent in 2012, with an average daily rate of $280.58 which was 0.9 percentage point and 8.4 percent higher respectively than the same period during 2011.
Moreover, the reports from Ernst & Young and TRI Hospitality Consulting highlighted that Dubai hotels were steady for the first seven months of last year when compared with the same period in 2011. In terms of revenue, hotels in Dubai recorded a 10.3 percent increase in revenue.
Many recent reports have pointed to the fact that tourism is constantly improving in Dubai with airport passenger numbers and hotel occupancy rates increasing in 2012. According to a latest report released by international hospitality consultants, STR Global, Dubai’s hotel sector is expected to see double digit capacity growth in 2013 as the entire Middle East and Africa region is set to grow its hotel room capacity massively. Moreover, The Construction Pipeline Report released by STR Global predicts that Dubai’s hotel room capacity will grow 28.6% in 2013 with 17,409 rooms currently in the pipeline. Additionally, Alpen Capital in its recent report on the region predicted that hotel room supply from 2012-2016 will increase by 5.3% annually in the entire United Arab Emirates (UAE) taking the number from the current 96,992 hotels to 125,383 in 2016. In addition, the firm also expects to see hotel occupancy to continue to rise up to 2016 due to the large influx of tourists arriving in the emirate.
Bahaa Fatairy, Director of Business Development and PR services of Genesis Consulting ME said: “The travel and tourism industry has established itself as a key important pillar for the economic growth within the UAE and Dubai in particular. It is the magnet to attract leisure, business and shopping visitors and is the ideal link between the West and East. In terms of marketing and PR services, we will carry on focusing on promoting the growth of the travel and tourism industry and helping to make Dubai the premier visitor destination.”
Medical tourism has also become an attractive segment, with medical tourists coming from the region and globally, as according to the research firm Business Monitor International. Health tourism in the UAE is growing at 15 percent annually. The DHCC recorded a sharp growth in medical tourism with over 502,000 patients in 2011 including 15 percent medical tourists compared to 10 percent of a total of 412,000 patients in 2010. It estimates that medical tourism in the Emirate will generate AED6.1 billion by the end of 2012.
“Medical tourism is being also becoming an important component of the city’s tourism as it is contributing to overall tourism growth and bringing awareness that Dubai is a leading provider of world class medical services. This has of course been enabled by the government’s initiatives in such as creating Health Care City in Dubai,” Fatairy added.
