The local market revived the UAE tourism sector, after it acquired 58 percent of the total number of guests, which numbered 19 million hotel guests, compared to 42 percent for those coming from outside the UAE, according to results issued last year 2021.
Hotel establishments achieved a growth of more than 29% compared to the number of guests for the year 2020, while revenues amounted to 28 billion dirhams (7.6 billion dollars) during the past year, achieving a growth of up to 70% compared to 2020. Over the past year, more than 75 million hotel nights were booked, an increase of 42 percent compared to 2020, while the hotel occupancy rate reached 67 percent. The number of hotel establishments in the UAE increased by 5% in 2021 compared to its counterpart in 2020, reaching 1,144 establishments. During the same comparison period, an increase in the number of hotel rooms was achieved by 8% to reach 194,000 rooms in all emirates of the country.
The Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises, and Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council, Dr. Ahmed Al Falasi, affirmed: "These positive results demonstrate the efficiency of the policies adopted by the country to support and develop the national tourism sector, and many of these indicators are close to the growth rates that were achieved in the pre-pandemic period, which shows a full recovery of the national tourism sector and confirms the positive trend it achieves increasingly."
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
