Hotel developers must move quickly to capitalise on a new financial incentive from Dubai Municipality and Dubai’s DTCM to develop more mid-range hotels in Dubai.
In a move to swell the emirate’s supply of three- and four-star properties, eligible hotels will be granted a concession on the 10% municipality fee which is levied on the room rate for each night of occupancy.
According to DTCM director general, His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri, the initiative is designed to incentivise hotel owners to bring forward their construction timelines, creating more mid-range hotel rooms in Dubai more quickly.
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It’s part of DTCM’s strategy to achieve Dubai’s Tourism Vision for 2020, which aims to attract 20 million annual visitors to Dubai by 2020.
Al Marri told Hotelier Middle East: “The hotel incentive has been brought in to increase the amount of three- and four-star hotels in Dubai and consequently broaden the range of hotel options available to visitors.
A number of hotel properties are either under construction or in the planning stages in Dubai and, under the directive of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, this incentive has been designed to bring those properties to market sooner. The sooner the developers bring these hotels to market, the sooner they will benefit from the incentive”.
He added: “Since the announcement there has been significant support from the industry and we’ve had several discussions with investors and developers who intend to capitalize on the incentive”.
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