Dubai: Hotels in Dubai are seeing more rooms booked from Thursday until Sunday, as the UAE is becoming a favourite destination for Easter holidaymakers from Europe and other countries.
Many residents outside the Middle East usually enjoy a four-day Easter holiday that runs from Thursday to Sunday, giving families some time to enjoy an extended weekend away from home.
Hotels told Gulf News that they are expecting 75 per cent to 98 per cent occupancy during the Easter holidays, with guests coming mainly from Europe, Middle East and the Far East.
The school holidays in the Gulf, which started last March 29 and end on April 9, are also boosting occupancy levels.
“We anticipate a good occupancy ranging between 75 per cent and 85 per cent,” said Moussa El Hayek, COO of Al Bustan Centre and Residence.
Hayek said they are expecting a number of foreign guests who want to spend Easter holidays with their families and relatives in Dubai.
“The school holidays coincided with the weekend and we are witnessing a good movement of traffic to our property, including guests from the local market who come to Dubai to spend their weekend,” Hayek added.
A research by SweetBeam showed that luxury hotels, in particular, are set to see a rise in European guests during Easter weekend. Visitors from Europe are expected to spend as much as 19 per cent more on in-house restaurants, bars, spas and hotel activities.
The marketing specialist for luxury hotels and resorts said that the number of European guests staying at Dubai hotels rose substantially during Easter in 2014 – from 48 per cent of total guests to 55 per cent – compared to the rest of the year.
SweetBeam’s research data showed that the highest number of Europeans staying at Dubai hotels was from the United Kingdom. British holidaymakers, who represented 21 per cent of all European guests during the Easter weekend, spent nearly 30 per cent more across hotel and food and beverage outlets and activities than they did throughout the rest of the year.
Guests from Switzerland, representing over 20 per cent of total Europeans choosing to stay at Dubai’s luxury hotels and resorts during Easter, spent 50 per cent more last year, from a 2014 average of Dh444 per room night to Dh656 per room night during the four-day Easter break.
“Europeans staying at Dubai hotels during Easter are keen to celebrate the holiday with their friends and family,” said Troy Simoni, CEO of SweetBeam.
“Hotels have the opportunity to maximize in-house guest revenue by offering specially designed activities such as Easter-themed brunches, Easter egg hunts and decoration classes for families.”
Nives Deininger, director of sales at Golden Sands Hotel Apartments said they are already almost fully booked.
“We are almost at full capacity [at 95 to 98 per cent]. We have a majority of our guests coming from Saudi Arabia, India, UK and other European countries,” Deininger told Gulf News.
