Dubai: Dubai’s hotels grossed Dh23.9 billion in revenue last year, up 9.8 per cent from Dh21.8 billion in 2013, according to Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce and Marketing (DTCM). Room revenues rose by 12 per cent to Dh15.2 billion, while revenues from food and beverage and other sectors rose by 6.1 per cent, the DTCM said in a statement on Tuesday.

Dubai’s hotel guest numbers, meanwhile, increased by 5.6 per cent in the year with Saudi Arabia maintaining its position as the emirate’s largest source market while the number of guests from China surged. A total of 11,629,678 guests stayed in Dubai’s hotels and hotel apartments last year compared to 11,012,487 in 2013, the DTCM stated.

It added that there were 44.66 million guest nights in Dubai’s hotels in 2014, a 7.4 per cent increased compared to 41.58 million a year ago. The average length of stay increased from 3.78 days in 2013 to 3.84 days in 2014.

There were 46 hotels added in the emirate in 2014, bringing the total to 657 by year’s end, up 7.5 per cent year-on-year. A total of 7,799 rooms were subsequently added increasing the emirates hotel room stock to 92,333, up 9.2 per cent.

“The 2014 figures demonstrate healthy year-on-year growth for hotel establishment guest numbers with significant increases from Asia, Africa and western Europe. The strong growth in hotel guests from China is hugely positive and reflects our targeted work in this market,” Helal Saeed Al Merri, DTCM director-general, said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia was again the largest source market, followed by India, the United Kingdom, the United States, Iran, Oman, China, Kuwait, Russia and Germany, according to DTCM estimates.

Growth in the number of guests from China increased 24.9 per cent, lifting the country from tenth position in 2013 to the seventh biggest source market in 2014. There were 344,329 hotel guests from China last year compared to 275,675 in 2013.

Al Merri stated that there had been a decrease in Russian visitors due to geopolitical issues and the depreciating rouble.

This is likely to continue with Dubai Airports, the manager and operator of Dubai International, stating on Monday that passengers from Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) fell 22.7 per cent in January compared to the same period a year ago.

Gerald Lawless, president and group CEO of Jumeirah Group, stated in the DTCM release: “We still maintain healthy share of business” from Russia and Ukraine, “despite the geopolitical turmoil”.

JA Resorts chief operating officer, David Thomson, stated that “along with all Dubai hotels, we saw a reduction in guests from Russia.”