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Dubai: The hotel occupancy rate in Sharjah increased to 83 per cent during the first half of 2008, according to data released by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA).
During the period, the tourism sector reported strong growth, with the number of visitors climbing from 673,218 in the first half of 2007 to 761,495 in the first half of 2008. While hotels accommodated 412,927 guests, 348,568 guests stayed in hotel apartments.
Responding to the growing demand, the number of hotels and hotel apartments in Sharjah increased to 102 (37 hotels and 65 hotel apartments), compared to 74 (24 hotels and 50 hotel apartments) during the same period in 2007.
Rooms
The increase in the number of hotels and hotel apartments raised the number of available rooms from 6,080 in the first half of 2007 to 7486 in the first half of 2008, with hotel rooms increasing from 3,237 to 3913 and hotel apartment rooms increasing from 2,843 to 3573.
Figures also show that the total number of occupied room nights rose to 729,534 in first half of 2008, up from 704,766 in the first half of 2007.
This figure includes 444,949 for hotels, up from 415,605, and 284,585 for hotel apartments, from 289,161.
According to statistics from SCTDA, European tourists accounted for 38 per cent of the total tourist arrivals to the emirate in the first half of 2008, while GCC tourists accounted for 23 per cent and 13 per cent came from other Arab countries.
Asian tourists made up 21 per cent of the total, while tourists from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Pacific region made up the remaining five per cent.
"The increase in the number of hotel premises in the emirate and the rise in occupancy rates clearly indicate that 2008 has so far been a year of excellent tourist performance. This is also apparent in the increased number of tourists that visited the emirate during the first half of this year," said Mohammad A. Al No'man, the Authority's Director-General.
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