Sharjah's 2008 tourist numbers up by 12%

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TOURIST TRAP: Sharjah has recorded a 12 percent increase in tourist numbers. (Getty Images)

The number of hotel visitors to Sharjah during the first nine months of 2008 rose more than 12 percent, compared to the same period last year.

The Sharjah Commercial and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), in a report, said visitors to the emirate rose to 1,152,181 up to the end of September.

At the same time, hotels showed an occupation rate of 75 percent, compared to 72 per cent in the same period of 2007.

The total number of hotels and hotel apartments in Sharjah rose to 103, including 37 hotels and 66 hotel apartments, compared to 74 in the same period of 2007.

As a result of the increase in the number of hotels, the number of hotel rooms went up to 3,913, an increase of almost 700 on 2007.

The number of nights spent by visitors in hotels and hotel apartments by the end of September rose to 1,062,934, including 632,406 nights in hotels and 415,993 in hotel apartments, compared to 1,031,689 in the same period of 2007.

The SCTDA's statistics revealed that European visitors make up the greatest number of tourists who entered the emirate, accounting for 33 percent of the total number of tourists.

GCC tourists come second at 29 percent, and Asian tourists third at 20 percent.

Tourists from the remaining Arab states formed 13 percent, while visitors from Commonwealth, American, African and Pacific states accounted for 5 percent.

Mohammed A Al Noman, director general of the SCTDA, said: "The tourism market has witnessed rapid growth due to the new strategies drawn up by the SCTDA since the beginning of 2008, pushing us to even greater efforts to follow development and provide better promotion of the emirate.

"We plan now to enter into a new phase of the development of the tourism sector, which will further enhance Sharjah's position on the international tourism map."

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