Sharjah hotel occupancy rate climbs to 83% in first half of 2008

During this period, the tourism sector continued the substantial growth that it saw last year, with the number of guests climbing from the 673,218 guests seen in the first half of 2007, to 761,495 guests for the first half of 2008. The numbers were split between hotels, which accommodated 412,927 guests in the first half of the year, and hotel apartments, which accommodated 348,568 guests, against 347,379 and 325,839 guests, respectively, in the first six months of the previous year.

This increase in tourism pushed the overall occupancy in Sharjah's hotels to 83% in the first six months of 2008, up from 76% during the corresponding period in 2007. Furthermore, the total number of hotels and hotel apartments in Sharjah increased to 102 (37 hotels and 65 hotel apartments), compared to the figure of 74 (24 hotels and 50 hotel apartments) during the same period in 2007.

The increase in the number of hotels and hotel apartments raised the number of available rooms from 6,080 in the first half of 2007 to 7486 in the first half of 2008, with hotel rooms increasing from 3,237 to 3913 and hotel apartment rooms increasing from 2,843 to 3573.

Figures also show that the total number of occupied room nights rose to 729,534 in first half of 2008, up from 704,766 in the first half of 2007. This figure includes 444,949 for hotels, up from 415,605, and 284,585 for hotel apartments, from 289,161.

Other statistics issued by SCTDA show that European tourists accounted for 38% of the total tourist influx into the emirate in the first half of 2008, while GCC tourists accounted for 23%, and 13% came from various other Arab countries. Asian tourists made up 21% of the total, while American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, African and Pacific tourists made up the remaining 5%.

Commenting on the SCTDA's statistics, H.E. Mohamed A. Al Noman, the Authority's Director General, said,

"This increase in the number of hotel premises in the emirate and the rise in their occupancy rate clearly indicates that 2008 has so far been a year of excellent tourist performance. This excellence is also apparent in the increased number of tourists that visited the emirate during the first half of this year."

"In the meantime," Al Noman added, "SCTDA is working according to a clear strategy to develop Sharjah's tourism sector by targeting international markets and organizing events and activities that further promote the emirate, such as tourism fairs, trade fairs and promotional tours. These statistics reflect the changes that are occurring in the tourism sector in Sharjah, and the positive outcome of our efforts throughout the year."

Regarding the authority's agenda during 2007, Al Noman clarified: "There is no doubt that the SCDTA witnessed remarkable growth in the first half of 2008, where we targeted the local, regional and international tourism markets in order to address the needs of the emirate's tourism sector. However, this success will not make us complacent, and we will continue our endeavours to maintain the current levels of success and to further promote Sharjah as a favourable tourist destination and world family, heritage and culture centre."

"The SCTDA has made a strong and distinguished appearance for Sharjah in a large number of international platforms, and has received a number of international awards. Additionally, the authority has succeeded in organizing, hosting and sponsoring a number of world-class events, such as Sharjah Heritage Days. The hotel classification law came into force at the beginning of 2008, and another giant step was taken in tourist promotion with the launch of the new Sharjah identity. We are gearing up for a new phase of tourism development that will further boost Sharjah's position on the world tourism map," he added.