Sharjah hotel occupancy up 64% this year

Occupancy rates for hotel rooms in Sharjah increased by 64 percent during the first half of the year as the emirate boosted efforts to attract international tourists, according to official statistics.

The number of rooms increased by 14 percent during the same period, the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), said on Wednesday.

Sharjah, which is stricter than neighbouring Dubai, was named the cultural capital of the Arab world by UNESCO in 1998, and is home to some of the country’s biggest museums as well as the Sharjah Biennial.

“The SCTDA worked extremely hard during the first half of 2008 to cushion the impact of the global economic crisis,” HE Mohamed Al Noman, director general of the SCTDA said in a statement.

“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.”

Last month it was announced that Dubai’s hotels had seen the biggest falls in revenue in the region during the first half of 2009. Occupancy rates in Dubai, the region’s biggest trade and tourism hub, fell by 12.9 percent compared to the year-earlier period, according to Reuters.

READERS' COMMENTS

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM