MIDDLE EAST UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
“Dubai continues to dominate the surge in hotel construction, but there are significant projects in the other emirates”
ambitious target – attracting 10 million visitors by 2021 through its Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021, which will be one of the key talking points at WTM London.
HOTBED FOR HOTELS The UAE is also one of the leading global destinations for hotel development, with a staggering 219 projects set to add nearly 62,000 rooms to the country’s roomstock in the coming years, according to industry analyst Lodging Econometrics. Dubai inevitably dominates this continued
city hosted 8.36 million international overnight guests during the first six months of this year (up 3% year-on-year), putting it on course to beat its previous record of 15.92 million visitors, which was set in 2018. Even the heightening of political and military
tension in the Gulf region between Iran and the US in recent months does not seem to have put off tourists visiting the UAE. This is also reflected in the visitor figures of the other emirates, with Ras Al Khaimah recording a 5% increase in guests for the first eight months of 2019 as it bids to attract 1.5 million visitors per year by 2021, rising to three million by 2025. Meanwhile, Sharjah has an even more
ECO-TRENDS
Away from the skyscrapers of Dubai, eco-tourism and sustainability are becoming more of a trend within the UAE with pristine beaches, nature and wildlife, and eco-friendly lodges being among the top selling points for emirates such as Sharjah, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. The UAE is also home to hawksbill turtles, while flamingos can be seen at Al Wathba wetland reserve in Abu Dhabi and the Al Zorah nature reserve in Ajman.
surge in hotel construction, with 173 projects currently in the development pipeline, adding another 51,000 rooms to a city that already has more than 700 hotels and 120,000 rooms. There is also significant hotel development in the other emirates including 14 projects in both Ras al Khaimah and Sharjah, which will add a total of 4,300 and 2,300 rooms respectively. Notable new hotel arrivals include JA Lake
View Hotel in Dubai’s Jebel Ali district, as well as the new beach resort of Caravana Alzorah (ME540) in Ajman. Plus, French hotel giant Accor is making its presence felt in Sharjah with a new Pullman Hotel, plus two Ibis properties and the Novotel Sharjah Expo.
AIRPORTS AND AIRLINES Dubai International airport, powered by Emirates (ME300), continues to be the main hub for the UAE, catering for a total of 41.3 million passengers in the first half of 2019. However, this was actually a year-on-year fall of 5.6% due to the closure of the airport’s southern runway for 45 days for refurbishment. During this closure, some flights were switched to the emirate’s second airport, Dubai World Central. India remains the top source market with
5.7 million arrivals for the first half of 2019, with Mumbai and Delhi the biggest inbound destinations to Dubai. Saudi Arabia was Dubai’s second largest market with 3.1 million followed by the UK with 2.8 million despite the weakness of the British pound. Dubai’s top three destinations are London, Mumbai and Jeddah. Emirates’ latest route developments include a new service to Mexico City via Barcelona
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
