PRICE POINT
There are indeed substantial differences in pricing between Dubai and Fujairah for example, especially when to comes to beach resorts, something also observed by group general manager for City Seasons Group, Thomas Tapken.
“For European travellers looking for sun and beaches, the northern emirates will be appealing with competitive rates — and will then attract longer average stays rather than stop-over traffic. With fewer external entertainment opportunities, these guests tend to stay in house for food and beverage, making them a good investment,” says Tapken.
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In addition, the hotels outside of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been more flexible with their packages and Tapken expects summer packages to be in place in May this year rather than waiting until July.
For Christian Rainalter, general manager at Hotel JAL Fujairah Resort & Spa, all inclusive packages have attracted more guests.
“We are offering different board options; whether someone prefers to stay on bed and breakfast, half board, full board or all-inclusive, we have designed a suitable package for most travellers. Being a resort catering for families, we have seen in the past that more and more guests would like to book their holidays on an all-inclusive basis. That gives them the flexibility of budgeting their holidays back home with regards to their spending,” says Rainalter.
And in Ras Al Khaimah, The Palace, Ras Al Khaimah and Al Hamra Residences director of sales and marketing Adrian Hearn says that the pricing benefits appeal to both overseas visitors and residents looking for a weekend break — a market that should still be targeted.
“Through RAK International Airport we have a number of charter operations coming in that have been able to supply volume to fill a number of hotels in the region, and with the emirate as it is, with its lower cost for accommodation and lower costs attributed to the hotel, it means that we can be a little bit sharper and a little bit more competitive in being able to streamline our costs, to hand on that saving to the customer.
“Our pricing is less aggressive than Dubai, which means we can be a more attractive destination on paper or through an advertisement,” explains Hearn.
“RAK is only 40 minutes from Dubai and we are a new emerging emirate and some people are seeking desperately to go into that new tourism. We are, from a cost point of view, not faced with some of the higher charges that are attributed to hotels and hotel suppliers with the Dubai remit,” he continues.
“We have a lot of people who come across and holiday with us from within the GCC and key markets, including the German-speaking markets, the UK, the CIS markets, and even Italy itself; all are all very popular for us.
“From a weekend standpoint we have a tremendous amount of people who come up from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, to spend the weekend with us as a getaway or a treat.
“This happens weekend upon weekend,” asserts Hearn.
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