Dubai tourism has room to grow
Hotel room supply in Dubai is set to reach 132,000 by the end of 2019 as the hospitality sector remains on track to record strong growth.
dubai— Hotel room supply in Dubai is set to reach 132,000 by the end of 2019 as the hospitality sector remains on track to record strong growth with occupied room nights expected to reach 35.5 million next year, a study by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing said.
While occupied room nights is set to post a 10.2 per cent compound annual growth rate over the next 24 months, room supply is predicted to grow at a twoyear CAGR of 11.1 per cent, the study said.
“Occupancy levels are forecast to remain at an extremely healthy 76-78 per cent despite growth in capacity, maintaining the attractiveness of the sector to hotel investors and developers,” said the study.
Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai Tourism, said the hotel industry remains at the forefront of cross-sector efforts to drive tourism growth, as Dubai work towards realising its Tourism Vision and 2020 goals.
“Dubai’s position as the fourth most visited city in the world, and the consistent growth in overnight visitation, has been achieved in large part thanks to the efforts of our committed stakeholders in the domestic hotel and hospitality sector,” said Almarri.
With international and local in- vestors, and operators continuing to actively pursue opportunities in Dubai, Dubai Tourism expects to see not only sustained growth in inventory in line with its projected demand for occupied nights, but also further diversification across various asset classifications, to ensure that as a city Dubai is the most globally competitive in providing visitors the optimal range of options that cater to their preferences across the spectrum of hospitality offerings, he said.
At the end of 2017, Dubai’s hotel inventory stood at 107,431 rooms, with growth of four per cent over the course of the year, and occupancy at a healthy and stable 78 per cent despite capacity increase, thanks to the 6.2 per cent growth in overnight visitors to 15.79 million.
The study said the strong competitiveness of the sector is set to continue to be fuelled by increases in Dubai’s growing international overnight visitation and targeted increases in length of stays [LOS], supported further by recent and upcoming tourism attractions and experiences.
“With concerted efforts to raise awareness in both established and emerging source markets, the duration of travel from new and existing segments are expected to see further growth in the medium term, positively impacting demand for room nights, which is in turn expected to outpace visitor growth over the coming 24-48 months,” said the study.
Alison Broadhead, chief commercial officer, Jumeirah Group, said as Dubai’s first home-grown hotel brand, the group continued to see potential in visitor growth, both in the luxury sector and in properties at a more moderate
The hotel industry remains at the forefront of cross-sector efforts to drive tourism growth Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General, Dubai Tourism
price point. Olivier Harnisch, chief executive officer of Emaar Hospitality Group, said with the sustained increase in tourism arrivals, including from new markets internationally, Dubai has reiterated its global reputation as a leisure and business hub.
Bill Keffer, general manager at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, said the hospitality sector continues to benefit from the ever-increasing number of visitors to Dubai, particularly from markets such as India and China. “As we look towards Expo 2020, there is significant development taking place around the Business Bay area.”
— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com
15.79M Overnight visitors in Dubai last year