Dubai’s Hotels Post 24% Q1 Rise In Revenues

The Dubai hotel industry recorded a 24 per cent rise in revenues and a nine per cent increase in guest numbers during the first quarter of the year, according to Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

The hotels also saw a 22 per cent jump in guest nights and a 12 per cent rise in the average length of stay during the first three months of the year.

“The remarkable results of our hospitality industry is the outcome of the substantial expansion of the tourist infrastructure, an increasingly impressive portfolio of tourism products, wider destination awareness, aggressive promotional and marketing drive and the growing air-connectivity to and from Dubai,” said Khalid bin Sulayem, DTCM director general.

In terms of source markets, Saudi Arabia topped the list with 272,631 guests, followed by India with 207,774 guests, the UK with 174,922 guests, the US with 129,978 guests and Russia with 109,219 guests.

According to a recent report released by hospitality consultancy STR Global, demand for Dubai’s hotel rooms grew 11 per cent during the first quarter of the year.

Hotels in the emirate recorded an 8.2 per cent rise in occupancy to 86.6 per cent, ADR increased 8.7 per cent to Dhs964.86, boosting RevPAR by 17.6 per cent, said the report.

Dubai’s hotel industry also posted very positive results in 2011, witnessing record revenues of Dhs16 billion and welcoming more than nine million passengers.