The UAE is predicted to see a recovery in tourist numbers this year with arrivals picking up even further in 2011, Business Monitor International said on Thursday.
In its latest report on the country's tourism prospects, analysts said they were upbeat about the sector long-term, despite being hit last year by the effects of the global economic downturn.
It said although it maintained a "rather poor outlook for the UAE in the short term", it saw visitor numbers rebounding this year and next, without giving specific numbers.
| Advertisement |
The research company also said it had revised its forecast of negative growth in 2009 from three percent to two percent, adding that the decision was based on "attempts by individual emirates to boost domestic tourism to compensate for the downturn in foreign visitor arrivals".
"Taking on board the relatively modest growth in tourist arrivals to Dubai in H1 2009 and very disappointing data on visitors to Sharjah over the same period, BMI maintains a rather poor outlook for the UAE tourism sector in the short term," its report said.
"Recovery in growth in arrivals is anticipated in 2010 and will pick up from 2011 with stronger growth rates than our earlier forecasts," it added.
Last month, STR Global data showed that hotels in the UAE continued to struggle in November with lower occupancy rates and a 28 percent drop in revenue per available room (revPAR).
Occupancy rates in the country fell by nearly nine percent last month, compared to the same month in 2008, to 75.5 percent.
While revPAR plummeted by 28.3 percent, hotels were also hit by a year-on-year drop in average daily rate (ADR) of more than 21 percent, it said.
The figures revealed contrasting figures for Saudi Arabia which showed increases in all three categories.
Occupancy rates in Saudi Arabian hotels was up by more than three percent at nearly 63 percent in November, compared to a year earlier.
Overall, the Middle East region's hotel industry saw revPAR drop year-on-year by more than 16 percent.
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
