Dubai tourist numbers up 10%, hotel supply slows

Dubai was one of the top performing tourism destinations in the Middle East in 2011, registering a 10 percent growth in number of hotel guests compared to the previous year, TRI Hospitality Consulting has said.

It added that the emirate saw a 23 percent growth in guest nights while hotel rooms supply slowed down during the year to 5.4 percent, mainly due to construction delays over the last 2-3 years following the credit crisis.

In a new report, TRI Hospitality said the recent recovery in Dubai's tourism and hotel demand "appears to be encouraging developers to restart planned or stalled developments", including some landmark projects in Dubailand, Palm Jumeirah and Business Bay.

Figures released by TRI Hospitality showed that room occupancy in Dubai increased by 1.9 percent to 82.1 percent and average room rates increased by 7.6 percent to $205.50 in 2011, which led to a 10.1 percent growth in RevPAR to $168.07.

The report added that a breakdown of hotel revenue showed that hotels in Dubai achieved a fairly balanced revenue mix, with 55.4 percent of the total revenue coming from rooms and 37.6 percent from food and beverage.

"Looking forward, Dubai is expected to witness an increase in hotel openings in 2012 including some high profile projects such as JW Marriott Marquis, touted to be the world'stallest dedicated hotel when opened, and the Palazzo Versace Hotel in Al Jadaf," the report said.