Dubai Tourism Recovery in 2003 bodes well for further growth in 2004

Dubai’s inbound tourism sector can achieve another 12 months of sustained growth, according to Michael Scully, general manager of Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina.

The resort, which underwent significant landscape extensions in 2003, registered a 10.6 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue, with Scully confident that this figure can rise still further, both for Mina Seyahi and for the rest of the hotel sector in the city.

Scully said: “In March last year, hoteliers around the world were wringing their hands after external influences saw occupancies drop. But many hotels in Dubai found that they were able to sustain business levels after all, thanks to revised marketing and sales activities.

“Le Meridien Mina Seyahi actually registered a substantial increase on 2002, and performed well above budget – which is no mean feat, considering the external factors affecting business such as the conflict in Iraq and the SARS virus.

“By the end of 2003, our business was breaking records, with revenue per room up 40 per cent in December, contributing to a 16 per cent increase in average room rate for the year.”

According to Karen Hardcastle, the resort’s director of business development, the growth owes much to swift reactions to the changing marketplace from the sales teams, and a flexible marketing strategy.

Hardcastle said: “We registered huge increases in some of our target European markets – including 150 per cent in Spain – where we had concentrated our sales efforts in line with new chartered flight routes.

“However, the most pertinent increases were those achieved to revenue and to the bottom line, as they represent the clearest indicators of business achievement.

“From September onwards, we saw maximum occupancies at very high yield, which bodes well for continued levels of success in 2004.”

Hardcastle also revealed a 15 per cent increase in bookings over the Internet, which is a trend that shows no signs of slowing down.

This growth is in line with recent Pricewaterhouse Coopers industry research that suggested Internet bookings would almost double over the next 12 months, from 13 per cent in 2004 to about 24 per cent in 2005.

Hardcastle said: “By 2005, the industry will have shown consistent growth, with rising occupancies and average daily rates. This is likely to result in more emphasis on the hotels’ own online booking systems, rather than those provided by discount websites.

“This effective price management by hotel companies will result in more rooms sold online, and smaller discounts available on third-party websites. The Internet may even help accelerate any rate increases during periods of tight demand,” she concluded.