Russian tourists return to Dubai hotels

Dubai hotels are reporting an increase in Russian tourists on the back of a stronger rouble, local media said.

Despite its drop in 2015, the rouble has been one of the world’s best-performing currencies this year after gaining 19% against the US dollar since January.

According to The National, five-star hotel Amwaj Rotana on The Walk, Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), is expecting a 15 to 20% increase in the number of guests from Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) over the Christmas and New Year period compared to 2015.

“JBR is a popular destination during the New Year due to the fireworks, and the location helps,” spokeswoman Jasmine Arika told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Rixos, The Palm, is expecting around a 1% increase in Russian guests this year, and Atlantis, The Palm is also expecting an increase, the newspaper said.

Dubai Tourism has said the number of Russian tourists increased by 8% to 177,000 in the first 10 months of 2016 compared to the same period last year.