Dubai’s hotel industry has seen a noticeable jump in occupancy on the books as the market prepares to host the Dubai Airshow and COP28. 

Dubai Airshow

As of 30 October, occupancy on the books for the Airshow was 59.1% for Thursday, 16 November and 58.3% for Wednesday, 15 November. At this time last year, levels for those dates sat at 53.1% and 54.7%, respectively.

“As one of the most popular and prominent commercial aviation events in the world, the Dubai Airshow has always been a great demand source for Dubai hotels,” said Kostas Nikolaidis, STR’s account executive for Middle East & Africa. “There is a plethora of top-tier events on the Dubai calendar year after year, and the Airshow is no exception.”

COP28

Dubai showed its highest December occupancy on the books on Saturday, 2 December (44.2%), and Friday, 1 December (43.7%) – the second and third days of COP28. When looking at same time last year, the metrics were significantly lower, at 29.4% and 30.8%, respectively.

“COP28 combined with UAE National Day on Saturday (2 December) and other events taking place during the busy winter period will ensure the city is buzzing with activity,” Nikolaidis said. “Over 40% of all hotel rooms are already booked for the first few days of COP as well as New Year’s Eve.”

“Both events are expected to push hotel performance to new highs for the year with some hotels selling out closer to the dates, Nikolaidis said.

“It takes skill and effort to fill a city the size of Dubai with more than 147,000 rooms. However, for yet another year, the market boasts a full calendar and a top-class Dubai experience awaiting the millions of tourists that will arrive.”

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