Museums, heritage sites boost Sharjah's appeal

Dubai: The abundance of museums and heritage sites coupled with cheaper hotel rates are pulling tourists back to Sharjah's hotels.

Tourist flow to Sharjah appears to be on the recovery path, showing an increase of 7 per cent during the first five months of this year according to the latest report by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA).

"The total number of guests staying in the emirate's hotels and hotel apartments reached 637,390, a seven per cent increase compared to the 594,105 guests reported for the same period in 2009," the report said.

Resilience

Figures clearly demonstrate the resilience of Sharjah's tourism sector, which has seen steady progress due to firm and well-studied steps. The emirate will now continue to work on future plans to help increase the tourist flow into Sharjah.

According to SCTDA statistics, there was a slight growth in the tourism sector with a 70 per cent hotel occupancy rate reported in the first five months of this year compared to the 67 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2009.

The total number of guests staying in hotels was 317,288 in 2010 compared to 308,656 in 2009, with 320,102 guests staying in hotel apartments in the period under review (up from 285,449 in 2009).

Tour operators believe Sharjah's heritage sites and museums are creating added attractions, while Dubai pulls crowd for shopping.

"Hotel rates in Sharjah are cheaper compared to Dubai plus the heritage attractions in Sharjah attract families with children where they can educate them," Gassan Aridi, chief executive of Alpha Tours, told Gulf News.

Sharjah has 17 museums that appeal to visitors.

"The museums and heritage sites are among the key attractions in Sharjah," Aridi said.

Figures also show that the total number of room nights in Sharjah's hotels and hotel apartments rose to 671,097 in the first five months of 2010, with hotel room nights accounting for 356,203 and hotel apartment room nights accounting for 314,894. This is compared to 621,910 room nights during the same period in 2009, with hotel room nights accounting for 341,496, and hotel apartment room nights accounting for 280,414.

The SCTDA's statistics show that European tourists accounted for 46 per cent of tourist arrivals during the first five months of 2010, ranking first, while GCC tourists, in second place, accounted for 25 per cent.

Tourists from Asian countries accounted for 14 per cent while those from other Arab countries accounted for 10 per cent. Tourists from the Commonwealth, the United States, Africa and the Pacific region made up five per cent.

Unique advantage

Mohammad A. Al No'man, SCTDA director-general, said the statistics were the inevitable results of Sharjah's distinct tourist offerings and products.

He said the authority was striving to promote Sharjah at international, regional and local exhibitions.

"The SCTDA is focusing on a clear strategy based on targeting leading markets that are important for parties concerned with the tourism industry, as well as on organising activities and events that would contribute directly to the promotion of tourism by taking part in the world's largest tourism and trade exhibitions and organising promotional tours all over the world," Al No'man said.

On the SCTDA's activities, Al No'man said: "There is no doubt that the first five months of this year have seen diverse activities by the authority, which was keen on intensively and carefully targeting local, regional and international markets so as to meet the demands of the emirate's rapidly growing tourism market."

He added that "such achievements would prompt us to step up our efforts and work dedicatedly to promote Sharjah as a distinguished tourist, heritage, cultural and family destination."

The SCTDA has made a strong appearance for Sharjah at a number of international platforms during the first five months of 2010, including its biggest and most distinct participation yet at the International Tourism Bourse Berlin where it won the best Arab world exhibitor, in addition to participating in major events such as the prestigious Sharjah Heritage Days.

• 46% share of Sharjah'stourists from Europe
• 25% tourists coming fromthe GCC to Sharjah
• 14% Asian visitors coming to the emirate