In the first seven months of the year, hotel establishments in the UAE generated revenues of AED 26 billion, witnessing a growth of up to 24 percent compared to the corresponding period last year, revealed Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Head of the Emirates Tourism Council, during a meeting of the council.

Bin Touq said the hotel establishments in the country hosted 16 million guests in the period under review, with a growth of more than 15 percent compared to the number of guests in the same period in 2022.

Some 56 million hotel nights have been booked while the hotel occupancy rate reached 75 percent from January to July, up 5 percent compared to the same period in 2022, he added.

He said the number of hotel establishments in the UAE reached 1224.

Bin Touq noted that these indexes contribute to increase the UAE's competitiveness in the international tourism landscape and fulfil the national target of raising the contribution of the tourism sector in the GDP to AED 450 billion by the next decade under the 'We the UAE 2031' vision.

The Council discussed an array of topics, including the latest developments in the implementation of the National Tourism Strategy 2031, and mechanisms for enhancing cooperation between the government and private sectors to achieve its goals, as well as following up on the results achieved by the 3rd ‘World’s Coolest Winter’, one of the initiatives of UAE strategy for domestic tourism.

The campaign promoted tourism, natural sites and entertaining destinations and experiences across the UAE, achieving an increase in the domestic tourism.

The campaign raised the revenues of hotel establishments to AED1.8 billion, compared to AED1.5 billion in its second edition, marking an increase of 20 percent.

The 3rd edition of the World’s Coolest Winter campaign raised the number of domestic tourists to 1.4 million, an increase of 8 percent over the previous edition.

He noted that the “World’s Coolest Winter” translates the objectives of the ‘’UAE Tourism Strategy 2031'', which seeks to attract AED100 billion as additional investments for the tourism sector, and raise its contribution to the GDP to AED 450 billion in 2031.

Bin Touq said the meeting saw the announcement of the formation of a hospitality advisory committee, which aims to stimulate the growth and increase competitiveness of this vital sector in the country and make it more diversified in line with international best practices. The committee also seeks to improve the country’s attractiveness for tourism investments, create tourism initiatives and programmes, and encourage continuous communication with private sector institutions and companies operating in the hospitality sector.