Dubai hotel guests hit six million in nine months

The total number of hotel guests in Dubai touched approximately six million (5,991,660 guests) in the first nine months of 2010, an increase of 6 per cent compared to 5,640,703 guests for the same period last year, a report said.

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) revealed the data at the launch of an international campaign to promote the ‘Definitely Dubai’ initiative, aiming to market the emirate’s tourist attractions across the world in collaboration with major international tourism companies.

DTCM Director General Khalid A. Bin Sulayem said that the latest increase in tourism figures follows the 9 per cent increase achieved during the first half of this year.

Statistics also indicate that the number of tourist reservations for the first three quarters of 2010 reached 18,731,478 compared to 16,378,422 during the same period of 2009, marking a 14 per cent increase.

Also, the number of hotel rooms and hotel apartments increased during the first three quarters of 2010 by 16 per cent; from 59,372 rooms and hotel apartments in the first three quarters of last year to 68,654 this year.

 Hotel occupancy rates were steady for the first nine months of this year and were almost identical to the occupancy rates achieved during the same period last year.

The number of hotel facilities currently active in Dubai reached 565 compared to 533 in the same period last year, marking a 6 per cent increase.

On the other hand, hotel revenues amounted to Dh9.23 billion ($2.51 billion) compared to Dh8.70 billion realised during the same period last year, reflecting an increase of 6 per cent.

The occupancy rate for hotel apartments increased by 2 per cent during the first nine months of 2010, reaching 66 per cent compared to 64 per cent for the same period in 2009, he added.