Dubai’s hotels welcome over 11 million guests in 2013

Share this

–   Figures show a 10.6 per cent increase year-on-year in hotel establishment guests, on track to achieve Dubai’s Tourism Vision for 2020 of 20 million tourists annually

–   Hotel and hotel apartment operator revenues rise 16.1 per cent to AED 21.8 billion 

Dubai, UAE: Dubai’s hotels welcomed more than 11 million guests in 2013 – an increase of just over one million on the 2012 numbers and a positive indication that Dubai is on the way to achieving its target of welcoming 20 million visitors a year by 2020. Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) released the statistics ahead of the global tourism industry gathering at the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) in Berlin this week, with the announced figures also showing increases across key indicators such as hotel establishment revenues and room occupancy.

Visitors and source markets

Guest numbers across all hotel establishments (hotels and hotel apartments) in 2013 reached 11,012,487, a 10.6 per cent increase on the 9,957,161 of 2012. Dubai’s top 10 hotel guest source markets remained, for the most part, unchanged when compared to 2012 – with some slight changes in positioning. Saudi Arabia, India, UK, USA, Russia, Kuwait, Germany, Oman, Iran and China made up the top ten for January to December 2013.

The Australia market experienced the most growth, with numbers up by 39 per cent from more than 193,000 in 2012 to more than 269,000 in 2013. This sizeable growth can be largely attributed to the partnership between Emirates Airline and Qantas announced in April 2013, which resulted in an increased flight volume between Dubai and Australia. Saudi Arabia, consistently Dubai’s primary source market experienced further growth, with guest numbers up by 19.9 per cent to 1.35 million. China (ranked 10th) also continued to show significant increases, with visitors up by 11 per cent, partly as a result of the targeted marketing activities in China of DTCM and its partners in Dubai’s tourism industry of Dubai and the opening of DTCM’s fourth China office in late 2013. The increase can also be attributed to the growing propensity of Chinese tourists to travel outside of China.

His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of DTCM commented: “The strong growth shown in hotel establishment guests in 2013 is a positive first step on our journey to 2020. Having announced the Tourism Vision for 2020 in May 2013, a 10.6% growth in hotel establishment guests demonstrates that we are on track to double the 10 million tourists received in 2012 to 20 million per year by 2020 and is an affirmation of the destination’s ever increasing appeal.

“In order to achieve our target, we must deliver on our strategy to position Dubai as a foremost destination for both leisure and business travellers by continuously evolving our destination offering and attracting visitors from a broader range of source markets while growing the number received from the markets which have traditionally been strong. 10 months on from announcing the Tourism Vision we have seen solid progress, with a further diversification of our accommodation, attractions and events offering, and the announcements of a number of new initiatives which will contribute to driving visitor numbers.”

Hotel: occupancy, revenues and new openings

Revenues for hoteliers and hotel apartment operators saw significant growth with total revenues up by 16.1 per cent reaching AED 21.84 billion for 2013.

Total guest nights also recorded increases, up 11.0 per cent to 41.57 million when compared to 37.45 million in 2012. Occupancy rates for hotel rooms increased from 78 per cent to 80 per cent, while the occupancy rate for hotel apartments was 82 per cent, up 6.5 per cent when compared to 2012. These figures become even more significant given that 2013 saw a number of new accommodation options enter the market. The number of hotel rooms and apartments at the end of 2013 amounted to a total of 84,534 (611 establishments) compared to 80,414 (599 establishments) in 2012, representing an increase of over 5 per cent. In the current development pipeline for 2014-2016 there will be an additional 139 hotel establishments added to the market including 91 hotels and 48 hotel apartments bringing the total to 750 hotel establishments and just under 114,000 rooms.

His Excellency Almarri, commented: “A 16.1 per cent increase in revenues for our hoteliers is an indicator of the healthy state of the hospitality industry while an occupancy rate of 82 per cent demonstrates to the hotel investment industry that Dubai is one of the world’s most attractive investment opportunities. In order to provide accommodation for our targeted visitor numbers for 2020, we estimate we need a total of between 140,000 to 160,000 rooms and will work closely with the investment industry to make this happen.”

In addition to the stated need to develop more hotels, broadening the range of accommodation offerings is one of the focuses needed in order to attract a wider market of visitors. The range of hotel openings throughout 2013 provides early testament to this: these included Barjeel Guest House in Bur Dubai; a number of two, three and four star properties including Vida Downtown Dubai, Movenpick Hotel Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Novotel Hotel Al Barsha; five-star hotels in the city such as Conrad and Oberoi; and two new five-star resorts on the Palm Jumeirah, Sofitel and Anantara. The number of hotels grew from 599 at the end of 2012 to 611 at the end of 2013.

In September 2013 the Government announced an initiative to incentivise hotel owners to bring forward construction timelines of three and four star hotels, with eligible developments granted a concession on the standard 10 per cent Municipality Fee which is levied on the room rate for each night of occupancy. This was followed in January of this year by the issuance of a series of directives from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, designed to enhance and streamline hotel investment and development in the Emirate.

His Excellency Almarri, continued: “The financial incentive to develop more mid-range hotels has been received very well by the hotel investment and development industry and will swell the number of mid-range hotels which are constructed and opened in the next three to four years. DTCM continues to work with our governmental and industry partners to ensure all measures are taken to broaden the destination offering.”

The hotel establishment guest figures were released ahead of ITB, where DTCM and a 50-strong delegation of partners from the Emirate’s tourism industry will promote Dubai’s diverse destination offering to key international buyers.

FULL STATISTICS FOR JANUARY – DECEMBER 2013

2012-2013 Dubai Hotel Establishment Source Markets*

2013

%

2012

Rank

Nationality

Total Guests

Change

Rank

Nationality

Total Guests

1

Saudi Arabia

1,353,819

19.9%

1

Saudi Arabia

1,128,757

2

India

888,835

16.3%

2

India

763,986

3

UK

758,657

10.5%

3

UK

686,842

4

USA

510,423

0.8%

4

USA

506,387

5

Russia

403,990

2.9%

5

Russia

392,687

6

Kuwait

336,032

16.9%

6

Iran

323,349

7

Germany

324,352

3.0%

7

Germany

314,951

8

Oman

290,826

2.0%

8

Kuwait

287,401

9

Iran

277,847

-14.1%

9

Oman

285,023

10

China

275,675

11.0%

10

China

248,367

11

Australia

269,147

39.0%

11

Pakistan

239,503

12

Pakistan

259,457

8.3%

12

Australia

193,575

13

Egypt

207,327

22.2%

13

France

170,855

14

France

186,438

9.1%

14

Egypt

169,621

15

Qatar

171,742

7.7%

15

Qatar

159,456

16

Philippines

135,638

5.1%

16

Philippines

129,085

17

Italy

132,992

11.2%

17

Italy

119,581

18

Jordan

119,602

17.6%

18

Jordan

101,679

19

Lebanon

111,682

12.4%

19

Bahrain

101,456

20

Netherlands

100,934

13.0%

20

Lebanon

99,319

* excluding UAE

 

2011-2013 Dubai Hotel Establishment Figures Summary

Indicators

Establishments

2011

2012

2013

Guests                                                (Numbers) Hotels

7,262,730

7,823,117

8,641,355

Hotel Apartments

1,832,840

2,134,044

2,371,132

TOTAL

9,095,570

9,957,161

11,012,487

% Change

9.5%

10.6%

Guests Nights                            (Numbers) Hotels

23,266,875

26,003,103

29,049,743

Hotel Apartments

9,581,315

11,442,350

12,529,025

TOTAL

32,848,190

37,445,453

41,578,768

% Change

14.0%

11.0%

Average Length of Stay Hotels

3.2

3.3

3.4

Hotel Apartments

5.2

5.4

5.3

TOTAL

3.6

3.8

3.8

% Change

4.1

0.4

Hotels & Hotel Apts Hotels

387

399

416

Hotel Apartments

188

200

195

TOTAL

575

599

611

% Change

4.2%

2.0%

Total Revenues (‘000 AED) Hotels

13,666,731

16,031,996

18,713,965

Hotel Apartments

2,298,280

2,787,261

3,130,067

TOTAL

15,965,011

18,819,257

21,844,032

% Change

17.9%

16.1%

Total Rooms & Flats Hotel Rooms

53,828

57,345

61,670

Hotel Apartment Flats

21,015

23,069

22,864

TOTAL

74,843

80,414

84,534

% Change

7.4%

5.1%

Average Room Rate (in AED) Hotel Average Room Rate

563

588

629

% Change

4.4%

7.0%

Apartment Ave Flat Rate

383

419

433

% Change

8.9%

3.8%

Occupancy % Hotel Room Occupancy

74%

78%

80%

% Change

5.4%

2.6%

Hotel Apartment Flat Occ.

74%

77%

82%

% Change

3.9%

6.5%

 

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

Author: Editor