Hotels offer big discounts to boost tourist arrivals

Dubai: Discounts on hotel room rates are expected to spur Dubai's vital tourism sector, which has begun to feel the impact of lower travel demand because of the global economic downturn.

A leading UAE travel group said there has been a drop in the business but it is "less than expected" and tourism will pick up now that hotels are offering reduced room rates.

Hotels are offering discounts of 40 to 60 per cent for rooms as part of a promotion campaign launched by Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

It isn't clear how many hotels have officially joined the campaign which begins on January 10 and ends on the last day of the Dubai Shopping Festival on February 15.

Georges Moussa, chairman of Planet Group, told Gulf News the downturn has improved the room supply for travel agents, and visitors should benefit from lower rates.

"In the last three years we had tough conditions from the hotel side. They've become very flexible in order to cope with the new circumstances," he told Gulf News.

Most hotels used to report occupancy levels of 80 to 90 per cent, now sources say guest numbers are sharply down.

Moussa said the new situation calls for more marketing efforts on the part of hotels, which earlier filled rooms easily.

Because of costly hotel rates, some markets turned away from Dubai for cheaper destinations. Now that the rates are coming down they may look to the city as an option again.

"We'll feel the difference from February..," Moussa said.

With European economics turning bad in the second half of 2008, Dubai saw a sharp decline in tourist arrivals.