Abu Dhabi posts 2% rise in hotel guest numbers

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) said Sunday the emirate witnessed a 2 per cent increase on the year in hotel guest numbers in 2009, bucking international trends.

"In all, some 1.54 million guests stayed in hotels throughout the emirate in 2009. Guest stays in the final quarter grew by 16 per cent year on year," the ADTA said.

ADTA Director-General Mubarak Al Muhairi said: "While the last 12 months have been challenging, as they have for all destinations, we believe growth is a very solid performance in the face of global decline."

He said strong growth in domestic demand made an important contribution to Abu Dhabi's ability to weather the tourism industry challenges brought on largely by the global financial crisis and the spread of H1N1.

Al Muhairi said guest arrivals in Abu Dhabi hotels went up from 960,000 in 2004 to over 1.5 million in 2009.

Last year, Abu Dhabi's main source markets for hotel guests were Britain, the United States, India, Germany, Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia and Italy.

Helping the 2009 growth was the increase in Abu Dhabi's hotel/hotel apartment room capacity, which rose from 12,800 at the beginning of the year to 17,500 at the year-end.

ADTA said it is now targeting 1.65 million hotel guests for 2010, with the hope that the leisure tourism segment will play a significant role in achieving the target.

Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (Adac) released its full year traffic figures for Abu Dhabi International Airport, which indicated the passenger numbers grew 7.3 per cent on year to 9.7 million last year.

"Abu Dhabi International Airport is one of the few aviation hubs in the world to have achieved a healthy growth, while it has considerably outperformed the negative global average [-3.0 per cent]," Adac said.

"The UAE weather at this time of the year, Abu Dhabi's weather in particular, is a big draw for tourists from Europe and the US," Mohammad Amerah, an Abu Dhabi-based economist, told Gulf News yesterday.

"As well, Abu Dhabi's political, economic and financial stability as well as its security go well with its sun-and-sand image. Modern hotels, a good countrywide road network and highly advanced communication facilities have also contributed in attracting greater number of tourists to Abu Dhabi," Amerah added.

ADTA's Al Muhairi previously told Gulf News that by their estimates, by 2013, hotels in Abu Dhabi together could well be handling 2.6 million to 2.7 million guests a year.

Abundant sunshine, beaches, multiple options for shopping and exceptionally good law and order makes Abu Dhabi an irresistible holiday option for high net worth visitors.

"Tourism is a critical element in the overall development of Abu Dhabi. It will stimulate and diversify the economy, generate new private sector opportunities and elevate the emirate's international standing," the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi says in its policy agenda.