Dubai: Hotel revenues in Dubai jumped 24 per cent to Dh5.38 billion during the first quarter of this year over the same period last year, according to the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
The emirate, the single largest tourism destination in the region, last year catered to 9.3 million guests that helped generate Dh16 billion in revenue.
Khalid Ahmad Bin Sul-ayem, DTCM director general, said the number of hotel guests is expected to cross 10 million this year. He said the Arab Spring may have helped the emirate's tourism industry.
"People who were planning to travel elsewhere in the region last year might have had to change plans and travel to Dubai due to our readiness, the expanded infrastructure, good connectivity and tourism attractions already in place. So it might have helped us in a way," he told Gulf News.
"However, we have a vib-rant tourism industry that has sustained growth year after year even in the econ-omic downturn. As the industry grows, we expect it to serve more than 10 million hotel guests this year."
Rise in guest arrivals
The number of guests across Dubai's more than 577 hotels comprising about 75,171 rooms and serviced apartments recorded a nine per cent increase to 2.6 million guests in the first quarter of this year compared to the corresponding period last year.
Similarly, guest nights swelled by 22 per cent to 10.35 million. Hotel room occupancy rate stood at 87 per cent, an increase of eight per cent over last year, while hotel apartments enjoyed 84 per cent occupancy, a five per cent year-on-year increase.
The number of hotels increased by one per cent to 577 with the total number of rooms and apartments swelling four per cent to 75,171.
While the average hotel apartment room rate witnessed a 12 per cent increase to Dh448, the average hotel room rate was Dh655, an increase of seven per cent.
In January, Dubai ranked number one on STR Global's hotel occupancy list, up from ninth place a year earlier, higher than Tokyo, Paris or New York.
In terms of market performance, Saudi Arabia topped the Top 20 source market list with 272,631 guests, thereby consolidating Dubai's position in the intra-Gulf tourism landscape. India notched up second position with 207,774 guests, followed by the UK and the US with 174,922 and 129,978 guests respectively.
Russia ranked fifth with 109,219 guests.
The other top performers were Iran (106,352), Germany (99,065), Kuwait (70,399), China (66,926), Oman (65,779), Pakistan (62,234), France (48,347), Egypt (45,696), Qatar (40,804), Australia (36,307), Italy (32,477), Jordan (27,526), Netherlands (26,750), Philippines (26,509) and Lebanon (24,771).
