DTCM announces 5% increase in Dubai hotels' guests in Q1 2009

Last year, Dubai hotels played host to 7.5 million guests, an increase of 8.3% compared with 2007, while guest nights swell by 9.2% to touch 22.42 million.

The DTCM Director General, Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, said:

"The performance of Dubai hotel establishments in the first quarter of 2009, on the back of a strong 2008 performance, confirms the emirate's solid standing on the world tourism map despite the global economic downturn and our promotional and marketing agenda being on the right track."

A total of 1.89 million guests stayed in Dubai hotels in the first quarter of 2009 compared with 2008 period. The number of operating hotels and hotel apartments rose to 519 in the first quarter of 2009, up from 475 during the corresponding period in 2008.

The revenues of hotel establishments during January-March 2009 period was Dhs4.26bn. The total hotel rooms available touched 40,864 in the first quarter of 2009, up by 17% from the same period in 2008.

The number of hotel apartments rose to 46,355 in January-March 2009 period, an increase of 30% compared with the corresponding period in 2008. The first quarter of 2009 recorded 5.34 million guest nights.

The UK remained the top source market for Dubai tourism industry in the first quarter 2009, followed by Iran, India, US, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Russia, Pakistan, France and Kuwait - same as the first quarter of 2008.

He said, "The performance reaffirms that tourism industry in Dubai is healthy and strong. The results confirm excellent growth in almost every segment. The stunning performance also reaffirms the strong cooperation between various organizations in both public and private sectors."

He added the department, long before the global financial crisis surfaced with intensity, created a task force with experts and representatives of Dubai tourism industry players, to review the market landscape and take appropriate measures. Based on the inputs provided by the industry players and experts, the department took measures which reflected in hotel occupancies getting a boost even in the first quarter of 2009.

DTCM launched its new promotional and marketing campaign and interactive portal DefinitelyDubai.com at the Arabian Travel Market-2009 in Dubai on May 5 as part of set a series of innovative initiatives.

Mr. Khalid said the department, in coordination with the hotels, tour operators and tourism companies, has been working towards boosting hotel occupancies and increasing the number of visitors to the emirate.

He said the performance of Dubai's hospitality industry in 2008 and in the first quarter of 2009 is a clear reflection of the success of the marketing and promotional initiatives conducted by the DTCM, especially in the markets where it operates a network of 18 overseas offices.

The department has participated in several travel and tourism trade exhibitions in addition to holding Dubai Road Shows in 2008 and continues its aggressive promotional and marketing agenda.

It continues the aggressive agenda in 2009 and the programmes include hosting of workshops and Press conferences in the GCC countries, beginning next month, as part of the aim to tap the regional markets potential.

The department, in cooperation with the Emirates Airlines, DMCs and hotels, has launched 'Keep discovering Dubai' familiarization programme that aims to bring 2000 tour operators, travel agents and Media representatives to the emirate over a three month period.