Dubai has successfully retained its strong position as a business and leisure tourism hub with its impressive portfolio of hotels posting all-time high record revenues of more the AED15billion and a double-digit increase in rooms inventory. This was for the year 2008, one of the most economically-challenging times for the global tourism industry.

Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said: "The results are highly encouraging and reflects the vibrancy and dynamism of the emirate's expanding tourism industry. The performance reflects the efforts and ability of Dubai in confidently navigating through one of the most-difficult journeys that the global tourism industry is faced with."

"There are strong signs of growth for the tourism industry. Dubai has invested heavily in the tourism sector and is probably better placed to remain sound during a challenging time and, with its great product offering, may emerge faster than other regions when the global economy improves," he said.
 
Dubai hotel establishments played a host to 6,996,449 guests in 2008, up from 6,951,798 visitors in the previous year. In 2004, Dubai hotels received 5.4 million guests followed by 6.16 million in 2005. The slight increase in guest numbers enabled Dubai hotels and hotel apartment posting AED15.25 billion in revenues, an impressive increase of 15 per cent over the previous year. In the year 2007, the revenues were to the tune of AED13.26 billion on the back of a 22.4 per cent growth.
 
The Dubai Hotel and Hotel Apartment Performance Summary 2008 revealed 15.9 per cent increase in the number of hotel rooms and hotel apartments, which stood at 49,598. In 2007, the number of hotel rooms and hotel apartments were 42,807 after a 4.8 per cent growth over the previous year.
 
The government of Dubai is continuing its steps to manage this key economic domain in times of economic slowdown worldwide. The tourism and hotel sectors directly contribute 19 per cent to Dubai's GDP, while their indirect contribution to GDP stands at 32 per cent in 2008. 
 
The initiatives launched by the DTCM have helped boost hotel occupancies since the start of 2009. For instance, the last week of February, the average occupancy of five-star beach hotels was 95 per cent with the average room rate for the five-star hotel being AED1239.
 
The year 2008 witnessed the network of overseas representative offices operated by DTCM growing to 18 with the opening of three offices in China, with the broader aim of tapping the strong tourism growth potential in the world's most populous country.
 
The DTCM has taken up a number of initiatives to boost hotel occupancies and promote the destination in established and emerging source markets across the world. The department conducted promotional campaigns with visitors getting up to 40 per cent discount in hotel room rates among other benefits.
 
A three-month familiarization programme targeting 2000 tour operators, MICE agents and Media representatives had been launched by DTCM in cooperation with Emirates Airlines and other key players of Dubai's tourism industry to provide them a hands-on experience of Dubai and its vibrant tourism and business landscape.
 
He said the excellent cooperation between the public and private sectors was a way forward to tourism industry growth in this volatile economic climate and Dubai remains an excellent inspirational role model for many destinations.
 
 "We see the year 2009 to be more challenging in consolidating the growth. As Dubai increases its offering of world-class hospitality, the emirate is the preferred holiday destination for tourists from around the world. Dubai's tourism product offering is going from strength to strength thanks to the diversity of its activities and accommodation offerings. The future is looking equally exciting and we are confident about gaining even more solid ground on the world tourism map."