The Northern Emirates’ tourism and hospitality sector has grown in the last few years. Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah have both carved a niche for themselves, with Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain also stepping up their marketing efforts.Over the last decade, international hotel operators have set up shop in the UAE’s northern region, and believe prospects are high in these emirates.
Sharjah’s hospitality market is expected to rebound slightly in 2016. While Sharjah’s number of hotel and hotel apartment guests fell last year, according to the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), its chairman Khalid Jasim Al Midfa expects the number of guests to grow by 3-5% in the current year from 1.79 million in 2015.
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 by 2021. Unlike nearby emirates Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which have focused on mega projects to attract tourists, Sharjah is relying on its charm as the cultural capital of the UAE to increase its share of visitors.
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Tourism boards in Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman have also set goals for their emirates. RAK tourism authorities highlighted their mission to attract one million visitors. “Ras Al Khaimah witnessed great success in 2015 and we will continue to learn and build on our successes of last year,” says RAK Tourism Development Authority (RAK TDA), CEO, Haitham Mattar.
The emirate recorded 12,709 visitors alone over the three-day Eid-Al-Adha break in 2015, with its 5,000-odd rooms at 93% occupancy. Top feeder markets included tourists from the UK (12%), Germany (8%), India (6%), and Egypt (4%). Visitor numbers to Ras Al Khaimah hit 740,383 in 2015 representing a 5.7% increase year on year, according to Mattar.
Hotelier Middle East has previously reported that the emirate saw 835,200 visitors in 2011, 1.1 million in 2012, 1.24 million in 2013, and 730,000 in 2014.
When questioned, Mattar says: “While we saw a decrease in visitor figures in 2014, we achieved a 43.6% increase in total hotel revenue in 2014, compared to 2013. This suggests that although visitor figures were lower, those who did visit, either chose more luxurious breaks, or increased their length of stay in the emirate — one of our key objectives for international visitors.
“Additionally, 2014 was a challenging year for one of our key source markets, Russia, as they faced a weakened currency with the rouble hitting an all time low against the US dollar. This ultimately affected travel from Russia to many destinations including Ras Al Khaimah which impacted the overall visitor figures.”
Meanwhile, The Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD) assumed an aggressive stance in the last 12 months. ATDD signed a partnership with Ajman Department of Economic Development (Ajman DED) to develop and implement effective practices to help boost the economy of the emirate. The emirate also hopes to reach five million tourists annually by 2021. Q2 2015 was one of the emirate’s strongest in recent times as it reported that 3,420 rooms and units were occupied, an increase of 14.5% as compared to the same period last year.
Ajman Tourism Development Department general manager Faisal Al Nuaimi says: “Tourism in Ajman is growing. There might be a slight decrease in the number of guests to the emirate in 2015 as a result of a number of factors that have affected the industry as a whole, but the increase in the number of stays (guest nights) indicates that we offer products and services that visitors do not find in the other emirates.”
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