Dubai hotels face hit as European travellers cut back (page 2 of 2)

With so much at stake, the emirate recently announced that it is developing a strategy to help ensure that its tourism industry is better able to weather the financial crisis.

Dubai officials are gathering information and looking at tourism trends around the world, and based on their findings, the emirate may revise its target of attracting 15 million tourists a year by 2015, said Khalid Ahmad Bin Sulayem, Director General of Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing.

The new tourism initiative, which will be announced shortly, will include special marketing initiatives aimed at Chinese, Russian, Saudi Arabian, and British guests, he added.

Fairmont braces for slowdown

One hotel that is preparing itself for a potential downturn due to the financial crisis is the Fairmont Dubai. The 394-room property has witnessed a slight decline in occupancy in the fourth quarter, 'like most hotels in Dubai', said Kent Cooper, Vice President of Regional Hotel Sales in the Middle East and Africa for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

'The lion share of the drop has been in our premium products such as suites and Fairmont Gold (our club level hotel-within-a-hotel concept),' he said. 'This tells us that the business traveller is still travelling, but more cost conscience.'

The hotel has not seen a notable decline by specific geographic groups so far, but believes it is too early to make any long-term judgment about trends in this area.

'Overall, our travellers are telling us that reduced company travel is the main reason for a decrease in business travel, whereas the exchange rate is one reason cited for the leisure guest,' he said. 'It also appears that 4-star hotels are stealing market share as travellers look for cheaper alternatives.'

The hotel has managed to avoid lowering its rates for the time being, but expects that it will need to make concessions in this regard fairly soon. 'We have been aggressive thus far with tactical and value added campaigns, but we foresee a weakening in rates in early 2009,' he noted.

The hotel does not anticipate a turnaround in occupancy numbers until the fourth quarter of 2009 at the earliest.

See also:
Dubailand struggles with ambitious targets
Premier Inn sees 'huge opportunity' in Gulf