Sharjah sees 15% drop in occupancy rates

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UPBEAT MESSAGE: Sharjah's tourism chief remains positive despite a 15 percent drop in occupancy rates in January. (Getty Images)

Sharjah has witnessed a decline in its tourism sector, with hotel occupancy rates falling by 15 percent in January, compared to the same period in 2008.

Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, chairman of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) said that the impact of the global economic crisis on Sharjah's tourism sector since the beginning of the year has been "slight".

In a statement made on the sidelines of the SCTDA's participation in the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin, Qassimi added: "The declining demand for Sharjah's hotels is normal, and we are doing our best to stimulate the hotel sector in order to achieve the expected growth this year, a growth that will be positively reflected in the tourism sector in the emirate."

He added: "This year has seen a decline in the emirate's hotel rates as a result of the ongoing global economic crisis.

"The decline is normal, as there has been an urgent need to correct the unreasonable 50-200 percent increase in hotel rates seen in the last three years in order to deal with the crisis in a more pragmatic way."

Qassimi said: "The SCTDA's recently finalised promotional strategy for 2009 includes a number of necessary tools to support the tourism sector in the emirate amidst the economic crisis and worldwide challenges, and such planning will ensure continuous tourist inflow into the emirate and unsuspended development activities on the various tourist facilities projects."

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