DUBAI: The Granting of visas on arrival to Chinese and Russian tourists by the UAE has sparked a huge influx of tourists to Dubai, with hoteliers reporting they’re nearly fully booked.
During the first three months of the year, hotels across the emirate recorded an occupancy level of 86.3 per cent, showing a 2.7 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
The increase in bookings was more significant in affordable properties than in posh, high-end hotels, with Dubai’s “midscale and economy classes” experiencing a combined 7.2 per cent year-over-year growth in room uptake and luxury hotels posting a rather moderate increase of 0.7 per cent.
The figure is impressive, considering that Dubai has a huge supply of hotel rooms and more properties are constantly coming on stream.
However, the average cost of rooms per night fell 6.4 per cent to Dh795, while the revenue per available room (RevPAR), which has consistently been on a decline for two years, dropped 3.9 per cent to Dh686.