UAE hotels hit 62 percent occupancy as tourism industry continues Covid-19 recovery

Nearly 8.3 million guests visited the UAE’s hotels and tourism establishments in first six months of the year. UAE hotels hit 62 percent occupancy in the first six months of 2021 as the tourism sector continues to rebound from Covid-19, reports Arabian Business. , Nearly 8.3 million guests visited the UAE’s hotels and tourism establishments in the first six months of the year, 15 percent up on the first half of 2020 when lockdowns prevented much travel and tourism. The UAE outperformed other global tourism destinations from January to June, including China (where hotels reached 54 percent occupancy), the US (45 percent), Mexico (38 percent), the United Kingdom (37 percent), and Turkey (36 percent). Guests spent nearly 35 million nights in UAE hotels reflecting a growth of 30 percent, while the average length of their stay increased to 4.1 nights at a 12.5 percent growth. This is accompanied by a 31 percent growth in hotel establishments’ revenues to reach AED11.3 billion. Domestic tourism accounted for 30 percent of the total number of guests at these hotel establishments. “This increase in demand for domestic tourism has sparked a healthy competition among tourism companies to provide distinctive tourism offers aimed at promoting domestic tourism in nationwide,” said Mohammed Jassim Al Rayes, executive vice president of Al Rayes Travel.