Dubai consolidates position as tourist destination

Mumbai, July 7 (UNI) Dubai has consolidated its position as the world's leading tourist and leisure destination with the first quarter (Jan-Mar 2006) hotel occupancy levels showing an upward trend in the number of guests and revenues.

Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) Director General Khalid A Bin Sulayem, in a statement today, said, Dubai's record-breaking success in the tourism sector can be attributed to its spectacular new projects, record infrastructure expansion and sustained international marketing strategies.

In 2005, Dubai played host to 1.6 million tourists between January to March, and the number increased to 1.7 million in the corresponding period in 2006.

In terms of total revenue generated by hotel establishments, a 20 per cent increase was recorded from the first quarter of 2005 to the first quarter of 2006. The total revenue of hotel establishments jumped from AED 2.36 billion in January-March 2005 to AED 2.83 billion during the corresponding period last fiscal.

The number of nights spent by international guests in Dubai hotels came to 4,483,603 in the first quarter of 2006, as compared to 4,242,560 in 2005, an increase of 5.7 per cent from 2005.

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