Dubai's hotel sector begins to recover thanks to the arrival of international tourists
The hotel sector in Dubai is beginning to recover from the four-month forced closure it had to undergo due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emirates reopened its borders to tourists on 7 July and international visitors have been quick to come. "Since then, we have been very encouraged by the response of the market in the current second phase of our recovery strategy, which was activated along with the gradual resumption of economic sectors, as well as the phased resumption of world travel," said Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Tourism in Dubai, in a statement to the Gulf Post.
The luxury hotel chain Jumeirah, based in Dubai, has announced that in the first week after the reopening to international tourists, online bookings have doubled. "We have received considerable interest from international markets, particularly from Europe and Russia," said José Silva, executive director of Jumeirah, as reported by the Gulf Post Office.
While international tourists are playing a crucial role in the recovery of the sector, hoteliers also recognize that domestic demand is proving to be very important. "The domestic market has been a raft of salvation. We are getting more and more requests to spend the weekend in our facilities from local customers. Many Emiratis have chosen to spend their holidays in the country this year and this has generated interest in improving the gastronomic offer, for example," Silva said. Companies such as Emirates Airline and Flydubai are also noticing that there are more and more bookings for travel to Dubai. Emirates is operating with up to 70 destinations on all continents in August and Flydubai wants to expand its network to 66 destinations this summer.
Emirates has been working hard in recent months to strengthen security measures to attract foreign visitors. Airports and hotels have struggled to adapt to the new situation. More than 1,000 establishments have received the Dubai Assured seal awarded by the Dubai Tourism agency and the emirate has been recognised by the World Travel and Tourism Council with the Safe Travels seal in recognition of the new regulations to combat COVID-19. To travel to Dubai, authorities require a negative PCR test in order to minimize the import of cases from abroad.
Despite the good prospects that Emirati hoteliers are beginning to notice, it should not be forgotten that the World Tourism Organization (WTO) has predicted that the pandemic will cause losses of between $1.2 and $3.3 billion in revenue for the sector, depending on when there is a full recovery in mobility.
Tourism has been one of the industries hardest hit by the pandemic, along with airlines. Countries such as Egypt, Tunisia or Turkey, where tourism represents a very important productive activity, are suffering a significant hole in their income as a result of the paralysis of travel. These nations are trying to save furniture this tourist season with large discounts for European tourists.
For the Emirates and other Gulf countries, the fall in oil prices has put the finances of these nations to the test and this year they will face the biggest economic challenge in their history, according to a report by the International Finance Institute. Although tourism does not carry as much weight as in other nations in the MENA region, the Gulf countries are trying to diversify their economies in this way and the pandemic has come at the worst time, when tourism revenues were just beginning to take off.
