Sharjah targets 3-5% growth in 2016

Sharjah’s hospitality market is expected to rebound slightly in 2016 with expected growth of 3-5% in number of guests in the emirate.

Sharjah’s number of hotel and hotel apartment guests fell last year, according to the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA).

SCTDA chairman Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, expects the number of guests in the emirate to grow by 3-5% in the current year from 1.79 million in 2015.

Growth projections are a result of the authority’s focus on attracting tourists from the GCC countries and growing tourism source markets such as China, India and Europe through promotional campaigns.

“We have to look at opportunities in other growing markets, such as China and India. The GCC is an important market for us. We have increased our efforts in these markets,” Al Midfa told reporters at the Hospitality Industry Forum 2016.

The SCTDA plans to open five overseas offices in China, India, Russia, Germany and Saudi Arabia in the current quarter.

Sharjah’s guest numbers fell last year, as the weaker rouble against the US dollar made the country more expensive for Russians, and the slump in the euro made Europe a cheaper destination for travellers from the GCC.

The number of visitors from Russia declined 75%, while hotel and hotel apartment revenues reached US$182 million last year.

The overall number of guests in Sharjah fell 13% last year from 2.06 million in 2014, according to GRMC Advisory Services project director Gurdish Singh Bassi.

Sharjah announced its tourism vision last year to nearly double the number of tourists in the next five years from 5.6 million in 2014 to 10 million.