DUBAI — Dubai has further strengthened its position as one of the world's leading tourist and leisure destinations as this year's first quarter hotel occupancy rates showed an upward trend in the number of guests and revenues.
Khalid bin Sulayem, Director of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said that Dubai's success in the tourism sector can be attributed to its spectacular new projects, record infrastructure expansion and sustained international marketing strategies.
The 'Dubai Destination' report indicated an upward increase of 7 per cent in the number of guests to Dubai's hotels in the first quarter of 2006 when compared to 2005 figures. Last year, Dubai played host to 1.6 million tourists between January to March, and the number increased to 1.7 million in the corresponding period in 2006.
Bin Sulayem lauded the visionary leadership of the Dubai government and its policies of investing in new ground-breaking projects that had all the potential of transforming Dubai into a glittering and futuristic metropolis.
In terms of the total revenues generated by hotel establishments, a 20 per cent increase was recorded from the first quarter of 2005 to the first quarter of 2006. The total revenue of hotel establishments jumped from Dh 2.36 billion in the first quarter of 2005 to Dh 2.83 billion during the corresponding period this year.
The number of nights spent by international guests in Dubai's hotels came to 4,483,603 in the first quarter of 2006 when compared to 4,242,560 in 2005. There was a significant increase of 5.7 per cent from 2005 to 2006.
The total number of hotels and hotel apartments also increased from 379 in the first quarter of 2005 to 410 during the same time in 2006. The room capacity also increased from 27,438 in January-March 2005 to 30,162 in January-March 2006.