UAE hotels generated AED26bn ($7.1bn) in revenue in the first seven months of the year, according to Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Head of the Emirates Tourism Council.
It represents a 24 per cent increase compared to the corresponding period last year.
Bin Touq said hotel establishments in the country hosted 16 million guests in the period under review, with a growth of more than 15 per cent compared to the number of guests in the same period in 2022.
UAE hotel revenue
Some 56 million hotel nights were booked while the hotel occupancy rate reached 75 per cent from January to July, up 5 per cent compared to the same period in 2022, he added.
He said the number of hotel establishments in the UAE reached 1,224.
Bin Touq noted that these indexes contribute to increase the UAE’s competitiveness in the international tourism landscape and fulfil the national target of raising the contribution of the tourism sector in the GDP to AED450bn ($123bn) by the next decade under the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision.
The council discussed a range of topics, including the latest developments in the implementation of the National Tourism Strategy 2031, and mechanisms for enhancing cooperation between the government and private sectors to achieve its goals, as well as following up on the results achieved by the “World’s Coolest Winter” campaign.
The campaign promoted tourism, natural sites and entertaining destinations and experiences across the UAE, achieving an increase in the domestic tourism.
The campaign raised the revenues of hotel establishments to AED1.8bn ($490m), compared to AED1.5bn ($408m) in its second edition, marking an increase of 20 per cent.
The current edition of the World’s Coolest Winter campaign, raised the number of domestic tourists to 1.4m, an increase of 8 per cent over the previous edition.
He noted that the “World’s Coolest Winter” translates the objectives of the ‘’UAE Tourism Strategy 2031”, which seeks to attract AED100bn as additional investments for the tourism sector, and raise its contribution to the GDP to AED450bn ($123bn) in 2031.
Bin Touq said the meeting saw the announcement of the formation of a hospitality advisory committee, which aims to stimulate the growth and increase competitiveness of this vital sector in the country and make it more diversified in line with international best practices.
The committee also seeks to improve the country’s attractiveness for tourism investments, create tourism initiatives and programmes, and encourage continuous communication with private sector institutions and companies operating in the hospitality sector.
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