Dubai

Ajman welcomed 180,000 hotel guests during the second quarter of 2014, up from 120,000 during the same period in 2013. Guests stayed for 182,000 nights, an increase from 128,000 nights during the second quarter of 2013, according to a statement on Thursday from the Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD).

Hotel occupancy reached 65 per cent in the quarter from 58 per cent during the corresponding period a year ago.

Meanwhile, the emirate’s tourism sector’s revenue amounted to around Dh67 million compared to Dh42 million in the second quarter of 2013.

Ajman has 31 hotels, with 2,922 units and 4,660 hotel beds.

“Ajman and the northern emirates have come a long way in a short period of time. There is a significant amount of continued hotel and resort development, predominantly because of existing hotels that are proving to be profitable and government endorsement of hotel development,” said Peter Goddard, managing director of TRI Consulting in Dubai.

Ajman is allocating 40 per cent of its budget for the year to new developments, economic and social projects that are meant to bolster tourism in the emirate, according to a report by news agency WAM.

One of the upcoming developments in the emirate is Al Zorah, a lifestyle project spread across an area of a 5.4 million square metres by Al Zorah Development.

Ajman is also building a new airport, which is expected to give the added impetus to the emirate’s tourism sector. Ajman International Airport is expected to serve around one million passengers a year when it becomes operational in 2018.

Europeans were the top visitors to Ajman in the second quarter of the year, followed by Russians, visitors from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other Arab countries.

Ajman attracts families from other emirates, such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, expatriates, and corporate travellers, according to TRI’s Goddard.

On why tourists head to Ajman for a holiday, he said: “There are people who avoid the hustle and bustle of Dubai. Also, they can take advantage of the lower room rates, which are around 30 per cent lower than in Dubai.”