Two new luxury hotels will expand Fujairah tourism

Two more luxury hotels are set to be built in the Al Aqah tourist resort in Fujairah, as the emirate continues to attract more visitors whose numbers increased by 48 per cent last year.

The first of these will be owned and run by Rotana Hotels Group and will cost about Dh90 million.

The second, called the Royal Miramar, will be owned by the UK Hotel Holdings (BVI) and will cost Dh70 million.

Last month, a contract to manage the new Dh90-million hotel was signed by Naser Al Nuwais, chairman of the Rotana Hotels Group, and Shaikh Saeed Bin Saeed Al Sharqi, chairman of the Fujairah Tourism Bureau, representing the Fujairah Government.

"The two new hotels will be a new significant addition to the hotel business industry in the emirate and will encourage other local and foreign investors to set up other hotels and resorts in Fujairah which acquires a unique variety of tourist attractions," said Shaikh Al Sharqi.

He pointed out that these tourist projects, along with the other existing hotels and resorts in Fujairah, would help place the emirate on the world tourism map due to its many attractions and "the popular facilities offered by the Fujairah Government for investors to discover the beauty of this new market".

"It is important for our emirate to be promoted strongly as a promising tourist destination through repeated participation in local and international tourism exhibitions through which major travel and tourism agencies and companies could be invited to bring their tourists to our emirate," Shaikh Al Sharqi added.

The new Rotana hotel in Al Aqah will have 200 rooms and suites, in addition to several restaurants, conference halls and other service facilities which will ensure the highest quality comfortable accommodation for guests.

"The number of tourists visiting Fujairah has increased by 48 per cent in 2003, compared to the figures recorded in 2002. The rise is attributed to the successful partnership between the government and the private sector and their efforts in promoting the emirate as one of the most important tourist destinations of the UAE," he said.