Tourism campaigns benefit Sharjah hotels during summer

sharjah - Summer offers boost hotel sector performance, GCC still main source market

Sharjah played host to a growing number of visitors this year, thanks to an international summer campaign organised by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) to attract tourists.

The campaign, which ran in collaboration with the emirates' accommodation sector, was run alongside the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry's summer campaign, which promoted the commerce and shopping available in the city.

The campaigns played a major role in the revitalisation of the tourist season as the number of visitors booking accommodation in the emirate - and their total spend - witnessed an increase in summer, with travellers from the GCC topping the charts.

Sharjah Tourism statistics reported that hotels in the emirate achieved Dh378 million in revenues during the first half of this year, a seven per cent increase from H1 2015. Occupancy rates during H1 2016 reached 62 per cent, as 878,006 hotel guests spent 1.99 million nights in all establishments, a 19 per cent increase compared to H1 2015.

Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, chairman of the SCTDA, said the summer campaign launched by the authority and other government entities formed a strong collaborative strategy to promote Sharjah as a leading family destination.

He explained that the summer campaigns organised by Sharjah Tourism, in cooperation with the emirate's hotels, which included a 20.6 per cent reduction on accommodation rates, come as part of a campaign launched halfway through this year under the name 'Sharjah My Family Destination'.

The campaign aims to achieve one of the main pillars of the Sharjah Tourism Vision, which focuses on families to develop the tourism sector in the emirate by introducing a range of initiatives, packages and offers that meet their requirements in accordance with the best international standards.

Yasser Sayed, director-general of Ramada Hotel Apartments, said the summer promotions organised by the SCTDA in Sharjah exceeded expectations especially when it came to hotels' revenues. Ramada's occupancy rate reached 100 per cent in the summer, a 15 per cent increase from the rest of the year, which was expected as families tend to favour hotel apartments.

Sayed explained that 80 per cent of guests in the Ramada Hotel Apartments were tourists, with visitors from Saudi Arabia topping the list, followed by those from Oman and Bahrain.

Ghassan Farhat, GM of Time Ruby Hotel Apartments, said the summer hotel offers are a good step to strengthen the relationship between the SCTDA and the hotel sector. Farhat pointed out that the number of guests in Time Ruby Hotel Apartments increased by 10 to 15 per cent, when compared against other seasons, with most of the guests coming from Saudi Arabia and Oman, in particular, and the Arab Gulf countries in general.

Pierre Semaan, marketing manager at Sahara Centre, said the summer promotions contributed to a 15 per cent increase in the numbers of visitors to the mall and a 10 per cent sales growth. Semaan added that visitor source markets to the mall are mainly the GCC, followed by Asia and Europe, and that tourists made up 20 per cent of the visitors to Sahara Centre during summer.

- rohma@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah