2017 a transformational year for UAE tourism

LOOKING BACK AT 2017, the UAE’s tourism industry has witnessed a year that can be defined as transformational across all the emirates, says Filippo Sona, director of the hotels division for the Middle East and North Africa region at Colliers International.

“There has been positive tourism number growth with marginal revenue increases,” Sona said. “The market has witnessed the beginning of a truly mature economy, and in the hospitality industry this can be defined as a migration from a revenue-driven economy to a cost-driven economy. This means that volume is consistent but price or spending attitude is very sensitive, which is the effect of an economy that grows from an emerging market to a mature one.”

The hotel industry has seen positive occupancy levels, but static average room rates, he added. The top source market remains unchanged; however, there has been a sensational double-digit growth from Russian, Indian and Chinese visitors year-on-year.

“We have had robust occupancy... however, the ADR is behind that of last year. We have seen the impact of the geopolitical challenges both globally as well as regionally, with reduced travellers from the UK/Europe and Saudi Arabia, and an increase from India and China,” said Glenn Nobbs, general manager of Copthorne Hotel Dubai.

Another challenge that has crept up through the year is what’s happening in the space of online trade, he observed. “Not just Airbnb as a disruptor; it is that more business is moving online, making life easier for the end user, but more challenging for the hotelier to ensure rate parity across all travel partners globally.”

Sameer Bagul, executive vice-president and managing director for the Middle East at Cleartrip, added that travellers from the UAE, which has one of the highest rates of Internet and smartphone penetration, are increasingly turning toward online and mobile bookings, which allow them to make easy, fast and secure reservations. Online bookings still outpace transactions made over mobile phones, but as highlighted in the 2017 Cleartrip Mena Insights report for the first half, the industry will soon see a shift in this pattern, as mobile bookings are growing at a rate of 155 per cent year-on-year.

“The country has also seen an uptick in outbound travel, with a number of countries extending visa concessions for UAE nationals and residents over the past year. Our data shows that during the first six months travellers on average took 1.93 trips per individual, and the majority of their trips was within the region. Thanks to the UAE’s positive economic prospects, the outlook for the country’s travel and tourism sector in 2018 remains robust,” Bagul said.