OAG Travel News

Dubai hotels have cut room rates by an average of 50 to 60 percent this summer, as the rising cost of air travel, global inflation and rising competition takes its toll on the sector.

Bilal Sayyed, general manager of travel group Destinations of the World, told the Gulf News newspaper on Thursday he believes hotel occupancy in the city may be down by as much as 15 to 20 percent this summer compared with the same period last year.

The Abu Dhabi market could have been hit harder as Dubai is the primary leisure destination during summer, he said.

Slumping tourist numbers are also likely to impact the country’s retail sector, which is banking on a sharp rise in visitor numbers over the next few years.

Indian travellers are especially price-sensitive and airlines have seen a lower seat factor on their UAE-India routes, industry sources told Gulf News.

It said Dubai had 452 hotels and apartments in 2007 and the number grew to 475 at the end of March this year, according to data from Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

Abu Dhabi aims to more than double the number of hotel rooms to 25,000 by 2015.

Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com  by Soren Billing