Press release Dubai s hotels enjoy busiest half year visitor numbers Increases across a number of top source markets 26% growth in visitors from China Dubai, UAE; August 24 : Dubai s hotels welcomed more than 5.8 million tourists in the first half of the highest number of visitorss ever achieved in the first six months of the year. The statistics, released by Dubai s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) today, show s across key indicators including hotel establishment guests, hotel and hotel apartment room revenues, F&B revenue and average length of stay. His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of DTCM commented: Our strategy continues to be positioning Dubai as the must-experience family destination: as such we are constantly diversifying our tourism offering and ncreasing our hotel portfolio to attract, and cater to, a broader market of visitors. The figures for the first half of are encouraging and we continue to build on this growth to ensure a successful second half of the year. The figures show an in visitors from many of our key source markets for example we are seeing strong growth from China, Brazil, Australia and many countries in Europe. The comes despite the reduction in flights due to the refurbishment and upgrading of the runways at Dubai International, which is testament to the work conducted by Dubai Airports and our industry partners in ensuring minimal disruption. Visitorss and source markets In the first half of, guest numbers across all hotel establishmentss (hotels and hotel apartments) reached 5,828,449, an on figures for the same period in. Dubai s top 10 tourism source markets remained for the most part unchanged compared to the previous year. The top 10 markets showed some slight changes in positioning and continue to show the diversity of visitors travelling to Dubai. Saudi Arabia, India, UK, USA, Russia, China, Iran, Oman, Kuwait and Germany made up the top ten for January to June. Saudi Arabia continued to be Dubai s primary source market and guests from the world s two most populous nations, China (ranked 6 th ) and India (ranked 2 nd ), continued to show growth. China in particular saw a substantial of 26%, attributable both to the increasing propensity of Chinese residents to travel overseass and the targeted campaigns of DTCM and its partners within Dubai s tourism industry to leverage this to the emirate s advantage. Guest nights, length of stay and hotel revenues Hotels and hotel apartments saw steady growth in guest nights during the first half of the year with figures up by 6.7% for hotels and 4.1% for hotel apartments. Increasing the length of stay has been identified as a key driver of tourism growth across Dubai within the Tourism Vision for 2020, and average length of stay d across the board, with an average of 3.9 days length of stay in hotels d to 3.4 days and hotel apartments to 5.7 days. Revenues for hoteliers and hotel apartment operators saw significant growth with total first half revenues reaching AED12.74billion (US$3.18bn) up by 10.9 per cent. Hotels and hotel apartments reported s in room revenue (15.3%) as well as F&B & other revenue, which rose by 3.8% %.
His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri added: The figures we re seeing show steady growth for the first half of the year, demonstrating that we re on target for our medium-termm plans. More importantly, this growth is sustainable and we are moving in the right direction to reach our Tourism Vision for 2020 targets. In addition to the in hotel guest numbers, since the end of June, Dubai has added more than 7000 hotel rooms to its inventory, with the total now standing at 88,680 across 634 establishments. Dubai s hotel offering is continuing to grow and diversify allowing us to both meet the demand from travellers as well as broaden the market we promote Dubai to. Festivals and events focus In the first half of the year Dubai hosted some top events including the Dubai Shopping Festival, Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and the Dubai World Cup, which have all contributed towards the growth in visitor numbers. Dubai s status as the region s leading Meetings Incentives Conferences and Events (MICE) hub has also played a central role in boosting first half visitor numbers, with the visit of more than 14,500 Chinese delegates for one incentive trip in April demonstrating the value of this sector. Major business events held during the first six months of included Gulfood, Arabian Travel Market, and Intersec. Looking forward to the second half of, the events calendar is even busier with plenty of events scheduled including Dubai Summer Surprises and Modhesh World which is currently taking place through to September; Disney on Ice; GITEX Shopper; DP World Tour Championship; Eid in Dubai; the Rugby 7 s and Dubai International Film Festival, and much more which will contribute to attracting visitors in the second half of the year. Notes to editors About Dubai s Department of Tourism and Commercee Marketing (DTCM) With the ultimate vision of positioning Dubai as the world s leading tourism destination and commercial hub, Dubai s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing s ( DTCM) mission is to e the awareness of Dubai to global audiences and to attract tourists and inward investment into the Emirate. DTCM is the principal authority for the planning, supervision, development and marketing of Dubai s tourism sector; markets and promotes the Emirate s commerce sector; and is responsiblee for the licencing and classification of all tourism services, including hotels, tour operators and travel agents. Brands and departments within the DTCM portfolio include Dubai Convention and Events Bureau, Dubai Calendar, and Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (formerly known as Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment). In addition to its headquarters in Dubai, DTCM operates 20 offices worldwide. ASDA AA Burson-Marsteller Dubai, UAE Tel: 971-4-4507600 Fax: 971-4-43580400 dtcm@bm.com ***
The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company Our Dubai properties recordedd healthy occupancies through H1 as we welcomed guests from key GCCC and European destinations, said Ibrahim Barghout, Area Vice President, MEA, The Ritz has Carlton Hotel Company LLC. We launched the Ritz Kids program earlier this year, which significantly d the appeal of our hotels amongst families with children. We also rolled out promotions that support the initiatives of Dubai Tourism to position Dubai as a year round destination. For instance, our key summer promotion Intrigue You, which started in June, offers a luxury guest experience with added value to summer vacationers and staycationers looking for the quintessential Dubai experience. Ibrahim Barghout, Area Vice President, MEA, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company. Jumeirah Group Jumeirah hotels in Dubai have had an extremely successful first half of the year. The Dubai hotels enjoyed occupancy of over 80%. United Kingdom, GCC, Russia and Germany remain Jumeirah s leading key source markets. China is demonstrating a significant double digit growth of 31.1% on last year. With 22 hotels in 10 countries and 17 in the development pipeline, we continue to grow our portfolioo in the UAE and internationally. The construction of Madinat Jumeirah Phase IV continues according to plan with a view of opening in the first quarter of 2016. Gerald Lawless, President and Group CEO Jumeirah Group. Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates "The first half of the year has been really positive for Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates thanks to the continuous support of the government and DTCM to promote Dubai as a destination. The hotel has seen an of 3,6% in the occupancy compared to as well as an in the Averagee Room Rate of 3,2%. We are confident this trend will continue until the end of the year." Nasser Fawzi Director of Sales & Marketing, Kempinski Hotel Malll of the Emirates Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort H1 was very positive for the Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort. Our average occupancy was 90% and important milestones were crossed. Continuing our commitment to excellence, the Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort announced ISO 22000:2005 and HACCP certifications, received Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor and is HolidayCheck recommended ( 5.2 score out of 6). During Ramadan we participated in the STARWOOD HOTELS & RESORTS FIFTH ANNUAL IFTAR FOR CABS INITIATIVE delivering 350 Iftar bags to the hard working cab drivers crossing our hotel. says Dany Dagher, General Manager at the Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort.
Hilton Worldwide Middle East and Africa Rudi Jagersbacher, president, Hilton Worldwide Middle East and Africa said, Hilton Worldwide has enjoyed a number of milestoness in Dubai this year, with the opening of two upscale DoubleTree by Hilton hotels and the signings of agreements to open three Hilton Garden Inn properties in the next two years. As we expand our offering in the emirate, we continue to extend outstanding hospitality, and new heights of luxury across our award winning luxury properties, Conrad Dubai and Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah. Dubai is a rapidly growing market and we welcome positive industry performance indicators from DTCM for the first half of. As Dubai s world class tourism proposition continues to develop, we are in a strong position to further expand our portfolio while building awareness of our mid market, upscale and luxury brands among travellers to the emirate. Atlantis, The Palm The first half of was very successful for Atlantis, The Palm and we believe in the importance of maintaining the strength of our brand in different markets across the world. We are proud to say that we have guestss from around the world, we have 323 countries on our database, as a result, we have tailored initiatives and strategies designed to reach our loyal customers, as well as to discover opportunities with potential customers. Our top markets are the traditional European markets such as UK and Germany, as well as Russia and the GCC. Markets that are growing include China, Scandinavia, US, India, Eastern European Countries and Australia. We are working on several initiatives and projects that target these markets, through our collaboration with partners from different sectors including Emirates, travel partners and the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing and are looking forward to an exciting rest of the year, said Ravini Perera, SVP Marketing, Sales & PR Atlantis, The Palm. JA Hotels and Resorts At JA Hotels and Resorts we are pleased to announce a constant and steady growth for the first half of the year. As we embark on the next half we strive to keep developing and enhancing our products and services. I am also pleased to announce our expansion into the Indian Ocean which represents our continued interest in exploring new regions and catering to the needs of the luxury travel market, said David Thomson, Chief Operating Officer of JA Hotels and Resorts.
1 Hotel Establishments Guests 5,696,224 guests 5,828,449 guests +2.3% 2 Guest Nights from Jan - June to Jan - June 3 21,394,297 guest nights 22,660,836 guest nights 5.9% Length of Stay 3.8 Days from Jan - June to Jan - June 3.9 Days
Room Revenue 15.3% Revenue AED 7.1 billion AED 8.2 billion Other Revenue 3.8% Total Revenue 10.9% AED 4.37 billion AED 4.53 billion AED 11,48 billion AED 12,74 billion
Number of Hotels & Hotel Apartments 603 Jan - June Total Room Stock 81,492 634 Jan - June Total Room Stock 88,680 31 more establishments 7188 more rooms
Dubai Top 10 Source Markets YTD Jun- #3 #5 #10 #1 #4 #9 #7 #8 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 Saudi Arabia India UK USA Russia China Iran Oman Kuwait Germany #2 #6