Issued by the Media Centre of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment31 July 2015

Hotels expect Eid momentum to continue during DSS

Hotels across Dubai that experienced high occupancy levels during the recently concluded ‘Eid in Dubai – Eid Al Fitr’ celebrations expect this momentum to continue during the 18 th edition of the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) organized by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

DSS commenced on 23 July immediately after the conclusion of Eid in Dubai, with a large number of tourists making reservations in advance to visit the emirate during the highly anticipated summer extravaganza that will run until 5 September under the theme ‘45 Days of Summer’.

Visitors from GCC comprise the largest segment of arrivals given that Dubai has become the most preferred destination for families hailing from these countries. The city’s diverse tourism and leisure

offerings are also a huge draw for visitors beyond GCC and those traveling to other destinations with a stopover in Dubai.

Dubai’s constant investment in mega entertainment and leisure projects such as shopping malls, water and theme parks have further contributed to Dubai’s ranking as one of the top holiday destinations in the world.

Dubai’s leading tour operators too have been rolling out comprehensive travel packages to streamline efforts aimed at attracting more visitors from GCC and other countries, leading to high occupancy levels.

Saeed Alaabdi, Chairman – Alaabdi Holding, said: “Hotel occupancy rates during Eid Al Fitr exceeded expectations, especially at 5-star hotels. Having emerged as one of the most favorite destinations for many nationalities, Dubai even surpassed multiple European cities in terms of visitors’ choice, owing to the emirate’s strong safety and security regulations, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and world-class services.”

Alaabdi anticipates this traffic to continue throughout DSS and bookings and occupancy to remain high with an expected increase of 20% to 25% - proving that Dubai remains as the favorite summer destination for visitors due to its unique entertainment and leisure attractions and exciting shopping experiences for visitors from around the world.

Mohammed Sharif, Group Managing Director of Arabian Nights Tours, said: “A majority of the booking requests we handled during Eid in Dubai were from GCC including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.”

Sharif, whose Arabian Nights Tours group owns multiple tourism and travel agencies, tour operators, and deals in car rentals, safari trips and transportation services, helicopter rides, hotel and holiday bookings and other services, also added that hotel and car rental services peaked at the beginning of Eid with the company offering many competitive deals and rates for tourists.

Sharif also forecasts this high activity period to continue through DSS given the summer festival’s dynamic calendar of events and attractions promising a fantastic summer holiday for families and individual tourists.

Nabeel Jacob, Managing Director, Jacob Tourism and Travel LLC, said: “At Jacob Tourism and Travel, it has been a period of high activity with the company processing a high volume of requests for Dubai tourist visas, ticketing, hotel reservations and tour packages. Dubai is the heartbeat of the Gulf. And with its exciting calendar of events for visitors, especially those from GCC, DSS is a fantastic time for families to come to the emirate and enjoy its diverse offerings.”

Naseer Khan, Managing Director, South Travels, said: “Dubai is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and is home to some of the most amazing attractions and world-class events. Just as last year, South Travels is gearing up once again to meet the huge demand for accommodation, tour packages and attraction tickets during DSS 2015. During summer, the UAE has always been a destination of choice for GCC tourists with majority of the tourists coming from Saudi Arabia. The success of Dubai’s tourism during summer can be credited to DSS which is only getting bigger, better and more popular each year. DSS visitors also flock to Dubai in search of exciting deals and special offers at thousands of participating retail stores.

Currently, our best selling package is the “Dubai Trio Tour Package” which includes desert safari, dhow cruise dinner and city tour, in addition to many other attractions.”

Tariq Aouni, General Manager of Emirates Grand Hotel & Apartments, said: “In preparation of DSS 2015, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing has ensured a number of new activities and attractions to make Dubai a major destination for visitors from around the globe and especially from the GCC.”

“We are also geared up for this busy period with the completion of the Emirates Grand Hotel Apartments project, with 346 units constituting a new addition to the main ‘Emirates Grand Hotel’, which offers 430 accommodation choices ranging from deluxe rooms, one-bedroom suites, two-bedroom suites, resulting in a total of 776 housing units. We are fully prepared to accommodate the demand that will follow with the opening of DSS 2015, with the location of the hotel and the hotel apartments on Sheikh Zayed Road giving families easy accessibility to many DSS attractions.”

Assistant Director of Sales and Marketing at Emirates Grand Hotel & Apartments, Asif Ansari spoke about the positive impact of ‘Eid in Dubai – Eid Al Fitr’ on business stating the company extended the best offers and discounted summer promotions on rooms during Eid and facilitated high volumes of requests from locals, residents as well as visitors from outside of the UAE. He expects the same momentum during DSS.

Simon P Casson, Regional Vice President and General Manager, Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, said: “Our first ‘Eid in Dubai – Eid Al Fitr’ was a period of significant business growth and we are now looking forward to Dubai Summer Surprises with the same expectation. We have been pleasantly surprised in our first six months of operations and we believe that having a unique location combined with a beautiful product and bespoke services have truly placed us on the map.”

George Anastasakos, Director of Revenue Optimization, Radisson Blu Hotel – Dubai Deira Creek, said: “Occupancy rates in June exceeded 95% on a few occasions and the majority of the guests staying with us were from GCC, especially during the week leading to Ramadan. Eid too was a period of high occupancy as well with our property experiencing a huge demand for bookings exceeding 5 nights. DSS is also expected to be a busy period given the festival’s wide range of attractions and family entertainment shows.”

-Ends-