Sharjah Tourism Picks Up in 2009 Second HalfPublish Date: 2010-02-02 17:00:11 Story Code: 24924 DUBAI — The number of visitors to the emirate of Sharjah picked up by nine per cent in the first half of 2009, after a 15 per cent decline in the first half, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) said on Monday.
A statement issued by SCTDA said the first-half decline was in line with a global down turn in the tourism business due to the financial crisis. But the recovery in the second half showed Sharjah’s leading position on the global tourism map, it said. Mohamed A. Al Noman, SCTDA Director General, credited the performance to the mutual strategic planning carried out by different economic sectors within the emirate. “We deeply believe in Sharjah’s tourism brand, which is distinguished from other regions by such attractions as high profile cultural, heritage, entertainment and sporting activities that are organized in the emirate throughout the year, the cohesive family atmosphere, and the multitude of attractions, such as museums and heritage sites, which attract visitors from all over the world to Sharjah,” he said. The statement said that during 2009, the number of hotels and hotel apartments in the emirate of Sharjah increased by seven percent to 110 (41 hotels and 69 hotel apartments), as compared to 103 (37 hotels and 66 hotel apartments) in 2008. Accordingly, the total number of available rooms rose to 8,727 in 2009 (4,275 hotel rooms and 4,452 hotel apartment rooms), a 14 percent increase from the 7,647 rooms (3,896 hotel rooms and 3,751 hotel apartment rooms) that
were available in 2008 Despite the global financial crisis and its impact on the world’s tourism sector in 2009, Sharjah’s hotel occupancy rate suffered a mere 11 percent decline from 80 percent in 2008 to 69 percent in 2009, taking into account the dramatic 14 percent increase in the number of additional rooms made available throughout 2009. The hotel occupancy rate in Sharjah was 74 percent in 2009, only marginally lower than the 86 percent occupancy rate recorded in 2008, while the occupancy in hotel apartments was 64 percent in 2009 and 72 percent in 2008. The total number of occupied room nights in Sharjah’s hotel establishments dropped by only three percent in 2009 to 1,462,165 – down from 1,504,859 nights in 2008, with hotel room nights accounting for 790,900 of the 2009 total (down from 882,599 in 2008) and hotel apartment room nights accounting for the remaining 671,265 room nights (up from 622,260 in 2008). — business@khaleejtimes.com © Khaleej Times 2010. All rights reserved. Share this story:  Digg
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