Dubai: Hotels in Sharjah recorded a 7 per cent growth in revenue for the first half of this year to Dh378 million over the same period in 2015, according to a statement on Sunday from the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA).

The authority said that it has strategically identified many new markets and worked with local partners to increase guests from these markets. Visitor numbers for the first six months of this year rose 19 per cent compared to the same period in 2015. The authority, however, did not give the actual visitor number.

Among the tourism source markets that showed strong growth is China, which witnessed a 73.2 per cent increase in visitor numbers in the first six months of this year. The authority is continuing to focus effort on this market and expects further increases over the following year due to a new overseas office, Chinese staff, and strategic online marketing in the region.

The effect of new flight routes to Pakistan has also had a positive effect on numbers of visitors travelling from Pakistan with a 10.3 per cent increase in hotel guests during the first half of 2016. The number of Asian tourists grew by 12 per cent making Asia the second-largest source market for Sharjah, just behind the GCC which sent nearly 220,000 visitors in the first half.

Anticipated increase

Europe and Russia continue to come in third place for hotel guests staying in Sharjah. Russian visitors rose 1.8 per cent in the first six months of this year.

Visitors from non-GCC Arab countries reached just under a quarter of a million guests, with the number of Jordanians visiting the emirate increasing by four per cent during the same period.

The number of African tourists in the emirate rose 2 per cent in the January-to-June period.

Sharjah aims to attract 10 million visitors by 2021. And, to cater to the anticipated increase in demand, boost hotel room numbers from 10,000 in 2015 to 15,000 by 2021.

Khalid Jasem Al Midfa, Chairman of SCTDA, said that the rise in visitor numbers is in line with Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021, which builds on four key pillars to boost tourism in the emirate: creating offerings and packages targeting families; offering new and innovative experiences; putting in place world-class tourism facilities and capabilities and establishing Sharjah as an international cultural hub.

The number of guests in the emirate reached 1.79 million in 2015. The SCTDA expects that figure to grow by 3-5 per cent this year. The number of guests in Sharjah fell 13 per cent last year from 2.06 million in 2014.