The emirates of the UAE are focused on harnessing their unique tourism advantages in order to complement each other
Tourism is reshaping the UAE landscape. Several large hospitality projects are under way across the country as almost every emirate sees long-term benefits in creating a robust tourism sector.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are home to two major international airlines, Etihad and Emirates, which have connected the UAE to every major city in the world. In the last few years Dubai has transformed itself from being a mere stopover hub for people flying between Europe and Asia to an enticing business and leisure destination.
According to Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), more than six million foreign guests stayed at city hotels in 2006. Dubai's ambition is to attract 15 million tourists by 2015.
Efforts by Abu Dhabi and Sharjah to promote their attractions are already paying dividends. Nowadays tour operators are easily able to promote the country as a whole with a variety of attractions such as desert adventures, shopping and beach holidays.
Large-scale real estate developments offering freehold home ownership have attracted people looking for foreign holiday homes, thus creating a segment of resident tourists.
Developments designed to sustain the tourism sector across the country are vast in terms of their cost and size. Different emirates are focused on harnessing their unique advantages in order to complement each other.
Increasing the number of hotels to accommodate the targeted visitor numbers remains the top priority of each tourism department.
According to a report by a leading real estate consultancy, Abu Dhabi has about 9,500 rooms in hotels and serviced apartments. Of these, Abu Dhabi city has 8,000 rooms, while the remainder are distributed among Al Ain, Al Dhafrah, Mafraq, Ruwais and Liwa.
Some 8,500 hotel rooms are currently under construction in the capital, and developers often emphasise that most of these will cater to the luxury segment.
The emirate witnessed average hotel room occupancy rates of 78.6 per cent last year, while serviced apartments achieved 80 per cent. Business travellers dominate the city's hospitality market.
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) is keen to increase the share of the leisure segment from the current 25 per cent to 40 per cent by 2015. To achieve those goals, Abu Dhabi is creating a mix of arts, culture and sports venues.
These include the regional branches of the famous Louvre and Guggenheim museums on Saadiyat Island, a 27-square kilometre natural island being developed as a complete visitor and residential destination. The museums are scheduled for opening in 2012.
Abu Dhabi is capitalising on long stretches of natural beaches and island developments. There will be 29 hotels on Saadiyat alone. An agreement between Abu Dhabi and the Formula 1 management will see the creation of the famous racing circuit in 2009.
Dubai's 40,862 rooms in 302 hotels and 111 serviced apartment properties at the end of 2006 are expected to grow by one-third a year through 2011. Mega projects such as Business Bay, Palm Islands, Culture Village, Bawadi, The World and Dubailand have several hotels under construction.
DTCM expects the number of hotel rooms to increase to 93,867 in 2016. The Bawadi project in Dubailand will alone create 29,000 hotel rooms.
It has been estimated that occupancy rates may fall closer to 60 per cent in 2011 in Dubai compared with more than 80 per cent in 2005. This should please visitors, as lower occupancy would bring down room tariffs.
Sharjah has been making concerted efforts to promote itself as a cultural destination. It has benefited from the launch of low-cost carrier Air Arabia that flies to a number of important cities in neighbouring countries.
The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority has significantly increased its foreign promotion activities and taken steps to streamline the hospitality sector.
Last year 1.3 million tourists visited Sharjah. The emirate has about 90 hotels and apartment hotels offering 7,000 rooms.Ras Al Khaimah has also unveiled ambitious plans to become a tourist destination. Eleven hotels are planned in Mina Al Arab, a large mixed-use project being developed in phases until 2011.
RAK Properties, the company behind the project, hopes to create 4,000 rooms in the emirate to completely change Ras Al Khaimah's tourism.
With so many hotel rooms either planned or already under construction, maintaining high occupancy levels will be a challenge for hotels when the projects are completed.
However, at present the only thing that is hampering the growth of tourism is a shortage of accommodation. Even in the hot summer months between May and September, Dubai hotels reported near-full occupancy levels.
