Summer tourism booms in Dubai
Tourists, especially women, love the fact that Dubai is safe. This is one reason why the hotel business in the Emirate is doing well. During and after Eid, overseas visitors, especially from the GCC countries, thronged the Emirate. It helped that the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) festival that began on July 23 (right after Eid) is on till September 5.
Saeed Alaabdi, Chairman, Alaabdi Holding, said: "Hotel occupancy rates during Eid Al Fitr exceeded expectations, especially at 5-star hotels." He anticipates tourist traffic to continue throughout DSS and bookings and occupancy to remain high with an increase of 20 - 25 per cent.
According to Alaabdi, "Dubai surpassed multiple European cities in terms of visitors' choice, owing to the emirate's strong safety and security regulations, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and world-class services."
To make the best of the tourist rush, tour operators in Dubai have been rolling out comprehensive travel packages. At least three tour operators have confirmed that there is a demand during this season, in light of DSS.
Mohammed Sharif, group Managing Director of Arabian Nights Tours said: "A majority of the booking requests we handled during Eid in Dubai were from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain."
There's been a flurry of activity at other agencies, too.
Nabeel Jacob, Managing Director, Jacob Tourism and Travel LLC, said their company processed a high volume of requests for Dubai tourist visas, ticketing, hotel reservations and tour packages. "Dubai is the heartbeat of the Gulf, said Jacob.
Naseer Khan, Managing Director, South Travels, said their best selling package is the 'Dubai Trio Tour Package', which includes desert safari, dhow cruise dinner and city tour. Khan said they were gearing up to once again meet the huge demand for accommodation, tour packages and attraction tickets during DSS 2015. "DSS visitors", he said, "flock to Dubai in search of special offers at thousands of participating retail stores".
At Radisson Blu in Deira, George Anastasakos, Director of Revenue Optimisation, Radisson Blu Hotel - Dubai Deira Creek, said the majority of guests staying with them were from GCC, especially during the week leading to Ramadan. "Occupancy rates in June exceeded 95 per cent on a few occasions," he added.
