Sharjah reports 64% hotel occupancy rate, 14% growth in number of hotel rooms

According to the statistics, the total number of guests in the emirate's hotels and hotel apartments was 671,662, with overall occupancy calculated at 64%.

The total number of hotels and hotel apartments in Sharjah was up 7% to 109 (41 hotels and 68 hotel apartments), compared to the figure of 102 (37 hotels and 65 hotel apartments) during the same period in 2008.

The increase in the number of hotels and hotel apartments raised the number of available rooms to 8,523, a 14% increase from the 7,486 rooms recorded in the corresponding period in 2008, with the number of hotel rooms increasing from 3,913 to 4,275 and the number of hotel apartment rooms increasing from 3,573 to 4,248.

Figures also show that a total of 671,662 guests stayed in the emirate's hotel facilities in the first half of 2009 - 359,151 guests in hotels, and 312,511 guests in hotel apartments.

The total number of occupied room nights for H1 2009 was 728,475 - 393,796 for hotels, and 334,679 for hotel apartments.

Other statistics issued by SCTDA show that European tourists accounted for 32% of all tourists visiting the emirate in the first half of 2009, while GCC tourists accounted for 28%, and tourists from other Arab countries accounted for 14%. Asian tourists made up 20% of total visitors, while American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, African and Pacific tourists made up the remaining 6%.

Commenting on the SCTDA's statistics, H.E. Mohamed A. Al Noman, the Authority's Director General, said that the statistics showed the vibrancy and resilience of Sharjah's tourism sector, and its ability to attract increasing numbers of tourists from all over the world despite the current challenging market conditions, which reached their peak in the first half of 2009 with the spread of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.

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

Regarding the Authority's agenda for 2009, Al Noman, clarified:

"The SCTDA worked extremely hard during the first half of 2009 to cushion the impact of the global economic crisis on the emirate's travel and tourism market. We intensified our efforts in targeting the local, regional and international tourism markets in order to address the needs of the emirate's fast-changing tourism sector. We will continue our endeavours to cope with the latest developments and to further promote Sharjah as a favourable tourist destination and world-class family, heritage and culture centre."

"During the first half of this year, the SCTDA made a strong and distinguished appearance for Sharjah at a number of international platforms. Additionally, the Authority succeeded in organizing, hosting and sponsoring a number of world-class events and in participating in a number of major local events, such as the prestigious Sharjah Heritage Days and Sharjah Biennial," he added.

"The Authority also launched training and licensing programme for Sharjah's tour guides. The period saw an impressive step forward in Sharjah's promotional strategies with the launch of 'Sharjah Summer Breaks'. We are gearing up for a new phase of tourism development that will include plans to target new markets and attract a number of family-oriented entertainment activities and festivals, as well as various projects included in the development strategy we adopted at the beginning of this year," he concluded.