UAE tourism is likely to see growth this summer as more residents are choosing to holiday at home, experts said on Monday.
Some 31 percent of UAE residents will spend their vacation in the country rather than going abroad, compared to 11 percent who did so last year, according to Jinan an Abu Dhabi-based hospitality management company.
The increase is due to major spending in the UAE tourism sector, which is likely to reach AED858bn ($233bn) by 2018, the firm said in a statement.
The company said people were also reluctant to go abroad because of the threat of swine flu. The World Heath Organisation (WHO) said the H1N1 virus has been spread around the world more quickly because of air travel.
Since 2000, the UAE has launched a number of projects to promote tourism in the country. Some AED230bn worth of hotel projects are in Abu Dhabi, which currently has 85 percent of all new hotels being built in the GCC.
“Abu Dhabi has made significant progress on the Saadiyat Island project – a large island off the coast of the capital that will be the cultural centre of the emirate – by establishing several cultural, scientific and educational structures, such as world-class museums,” said Noel Massoud, CEO of Jinan Hotels and Resorts.
“This step will pave the way for the tourism sector to greatly increase its contribution to the country’s gross domestic product, provide job opportunities, rejuvenate the real estate sector and attract more assets”.
In 2006, AED60bn was spent on tourism in the UAE, which rose to AED70bn in 2007. The figure dropped to AED50bn in 2008.
“This is considered by many experts to be a strong indication of the limited influence of financial crisis on the country’s tourism sector, which has continued to grow at around ten percent per year, the largest growth rate in the Middle East,” the firm said in a statement.
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