Dubai adds nearly 100 hotels, over 30,000 rooms since June 2019
Dubai’s hotel and tourism sectors are booming with nearly 100 new hotels opening and adding over 30,000 new keys since June 2019, official figures showed.
According to the latest data released by Dubai Economy and Tourism, the number of hospitality establishments grew by 96 from 714 in June 2019 to 810 in June 2023. While the number of new hotels grew by 37 when compared to June last year.
The emirate has witnessed the opening of some of the most prestigious hotels in the world including Atlantis The Royal, Hilton Palm Jumeirah, Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah and many more in the past year.
This comes as the emirate surpassed its pre-pandemic tourist figures, reaching 8.55 million in the first half of 2023 as compared to 8.36 million in the same period in 2019.
The number of hotel rooms increased by 30,344 to 148,689 in June this year as compared to 118,345 in June 2019.
The five-star category dominated the list with 155 establishment housing 51,227 keys, followed by 189 properties housing 42,480 keys and 1-3 star hotels offering 29,469 rooms.
Average hotel occupancy stood at around 78 per cent during the first half of 2023, which was among the highest in the world, and higher than in previous years.
While the average daily rate (ADR) in Dubai reached Dh534 in the January-June period as against Dh567 in June last year and Dh444 in June 2019.
Taimur Khan, head of research at CBRE, said despite this year-on-year moderation, the average ADRs across the UAE have surpassed the 2019 benchmark by 16.4 per cent, given the elevated ADR levels in Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Fujairah, which have recorded increases of 20.1 per cent, 15.2 per cent, 12.8 per cent, and 8.1 per cent, respectively.
Khan added that average occupancy rates across the majority of locations within the UAE have topped their 2019 levels.
“The UAE is also benefiting from the reopening of the European tourism market. Given the UAE’s hub status, tourists are both deciding and being induced into breaking up their trips to the continent, which is helping drive demand and profitability in what is usually low season,” said CBRE head of research.
Going forward, Khan sees continued growth on the back of several key upcoming events, including but not limited to the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix, the COP28 summit and the gradual return of key source markets, which have only recently been able to freely travel post-pandemic.
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source: khaleejtimes
