Beach hotels lead Dubai tourism recovery

Dubai beach hotel occupancy and room rates are almost back to boom time levels as this key sector of the economy leads the local recovery.

However, it is a different story for the city hotels where a tidal wave of new room inventory is keeping the market under pressure, making life for the new entrants and old favorites equally difficult. At the same time Dubai exhibition and conference attendance has slumped knocking another source of guests.

Beach hotel boom

On the beach the hotels are booming. The Royal Meridien is 96 per cent occupied and charging AED1,500 per night again. Jumeirah says its beach hotels are also full.

This recovery is very welcome in Dubai where the real estate and construction boom has crashed depriving the city of a dynamic revenue stream this year. Tourism is the first major sector to show tangible signs of recovery since the credit crunch hit last September.

Indeed, the $20 million party held for the opening of The Atlantis Hotel that month marked the high-watermark of the Dubai boom. Six months ago Atlantis was empty save for security guards, now the hotel is buzzing with tourists.

They come from the traditional markets – the UK, Germany and Russia with a sprinkling of mainland Chinese. Clearly there are people in these countries who are relatively unaffected by the global recession or make holidays a number one priority.

Guaranteed sunshine

For temperatures in Moscow are already down to six degrees and an escape from a gray and chilly, and economically depressed Europe to the sunny shores of Dubai is a happy prospect at this time of the year.

Never mind the lack of history and the high price of food and wine, tourists are voting with their wallets and choosing Dubai over the alternatives. Perhaps some are still curious to see this modern metropolis on the edge of the desert with its palm islands and the world’s tallest building.

Dubai has carefully cultivated an image of safe exotica that exerts a powerful pull on certain nationalities, and that allure seems to be proving stronger than some supposed, particularly when it comes to enjoying the beach.